decision

Ralph Lauren 57 v. Byron Shire Council - decision

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Litigation

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A group of plaintiffs who own property along Belongil Beach in New South Wales, Australia sought damages from the local government authority, the Byron Shire Council, to cover the costs of erecting shoreline protections on their parcels and to compensate for lost value to their properties from encroaching seas. Plaintiffs alleged that the need for those protections and the cause of the properties’ partial loss of value was the fault of the Council. In the 1960s and 70s, the Council constructed a form of hard shoreline armoring—“an artificial headland protected by a rock seawall.” Then, between 2006 and 2010, the Council issued draft planning documents (i) prohibiting the plaintiffs from armoring their own segments of shoreline and (ii) proposing a policy of managed retreat in response to rising seas and an encroaching shoreline. The Coastal Protection Act provides that such plans only become final and effective after approval by the New South Wales Minister for Planning; the Council withdrew its draft Coastal Zone Management Plan in May 2011, before the Minister considered it. 

Plaintiffs presented two alternative theories in support of their claim: either that the Council was negligent for installing hard shoreline armoring that has since displaced wave action to plaintiffs’ adjacent portions of beach, worsening erosion there; or that the council’s armoring constitutes an instance of public nuisance. Plaintiffs also argued that their injury was compounded by the Council’s issuance and withdrawal of planning documents, and persistent position that managed retreat is the preferred policy response to shoreline encroachment.

After the plaintiffs’ suit survived a motion to dismiss in March 2016, the Council’s insurers, who had been steering the defense in the case, agreed to a settlement. As a result, the court never determined legal liability for the claims alleged. The settlement’s terms bar the Council from removing existing coastal armoring (chiefly rock, concrete, and rubble barriers) on the plaintiffs’ parcels unless the plaintiffs agree to such removal. Should plaintiffs want to add to that armoring, the must apply within one year of the settlement, dated August 2016, and then must make the requested additions within one year of approval of their application. Any subsequent repairs or additions may only be proposed after 20 years, and the Council has not guaranteed that such proposals would be approved.

Ralph Lauren 57 v. Byron Shire Council

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

Ralph Lauren 57 v. Byron Shire Council - decision

Policy instrument

Risk

Just transition

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance