The Insurance Council of New Zealand (ICNZ) says reducing the impact of climate change requires “a collective long-term view”.

The call comes in response to Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment Jan Wright’s report Changing Climate and Rising Seas: Understanding the Science.

“The report adds to the overwhelming evidence that the sea level will continue rising and lead to increased flooding, damage and social disruption,” ICNZ CEO Tim Grafton says.

“With this certainty in mind, there needs to be a collective long-term view of how to reduce the impact, and that means starting to plan and invest now and progressively over the years.”

Mr Grafton says central and local governments, business, communities and individuals must be involved.

Dr Wright’s paper notes that over the past century, the global average sea level has risen about 20cm. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change expects it to rise another 30cm by 2050 and a metre by the end of the century.

Some areas of Christchurch have experienced an effective sea level rise of 50cm or more due to land dropping after the Canterbury earthquakes.

“Flood insurance has become harder to get and more expensive for some homeowners in the city,” Dr Wright’s report says.

“It is not just private property that will be affected. Councils and central government will need to prepare for increased costs because some public infrastructure such as roads, waste water systems and buildings will be affected by rising seas.”

Dr Wright will release a second report on sea levels next year, showing which areas of the New Zealand coastline are most vulnerable and assessing the risk to infrastructure.

“Some hard questions and difficult choices lie ahead of us,” the latest report warns. “Not least is the challenge of joining with other countries to take real action on greenhouse gas emissions.”

Last month ICNZ released a position paper called Protecting New Zealand from Natural Hazards, which presented a 15-point plan and called for a stronger focus on risk reduction.