Residents around Port Phillip Bay will not have to evacuate in the face of climate change, a new report has conclusively proven.

The Port Phillip Coastal Adaptation Pathways report examined five case study areas in Mordialloc Creek (Kingston), Southbank and Arden Macaulay precincts (Melbourne), Elwood Canal (Port Phillip), and the Murray Anderson Catchment (Mornington Peninsula).

Prepared by AECOM, and funded by the federal Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science Research, and Tertiary Education, and the Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development (DPCD), the report concluded that even in the worst possible scenario, residents would not be forced to retreat from their land.

The report has been welcomed by the Municipal Association of Victoria (MAV), who said that it would give certainty for coastal residents around the Bay area.

The research offers a framework for councils and other decision-makers to conduct cost-benefit analyses that can test options and inform actions to better respond to flooding impacts caused by climate change,” MAV President Cr Bill McArthur said.

“Case studies from five Port Phillip Bay urban areas were used to test the economic analyses. Flood modelling was undertaken and a series of adaptation pathways costed – for now and into the future.

“Reassuringly for all five case study areas, even under the worst-possible scenarios modelled, the research confirms it is economically viable to continue to occupy the areas. Importantly, the need for ‘retreat’ was dismissed as a viable option,” he said.

More information on the report can be found here