Open AccessClimate change compensation
Author(s) -
Benjamin Dudley Tombs,
Ben France-Hudson
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
policy quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2324-1101
pISSN - 2324-1098
DOI - 10.26686/pq.v14i4.5149
Subject(s) - compensation (psychology) , climate change , perspective (graphical) , statutory law , political science , loss and damage , law and economics , commission , business , law , sociology , psychology , social psychology , engineering , computer science , forensic engineering , ecology , artificial intelligence , biology
Climate change will cause significant loss and damage throughout New Zealand. This will affect everyone. When considering the options for responding, compensation will inevitably be raised, as either a requirement or a policy choice. Many people, however, appear reticent to engage with ‘compensation’ either as a word or as a concept; preferring to avoid it altogether. This article argues that compensation will be an unavoidable part of the discussion about how best to respond to the challenges of climate change. It is an integral aspect of the law of compulsory acquisition and the Public Works Act. It sits in the background to both legal and popular understandings of other statutory regimes such as the Biosecurity and Earthquake Commission Acts. This article explores the ramifications of this observation from a legal perspective and suggests that careful thought should be given, as soon as possible, to the development of a principled approach to compensation for climate change loss and damage.