In a worst-case scenario, some areas - especially the flat reclaimed land in the south - could become uninhabitable.
Just how much money may be needed to deal with the issue is unknown, and it is that uncertainty that forms one plank in the argument of anti-stadium activists.
The argument, included in submissions to this week's annual plan hearings, is that funding for climate change may not be available if the project goes ahead.
The Otago Daily Times asked council city environment general manager Tony Avery, who has the job of co-ordinating a response to the issue, to explain how the council was dealing with climate change.
He said while it was being included in council policies, it did not yet have a specific budget, and funding would be required in future. ‘‘I think it's inevitable.'' And there were several areas that would require funding. ‘‘The weather for Dunedin is going to get warmer.
It's also likely to get drier periods, with bigger storm events,'' he said.
That meant implications for the city's stormwater system, which would need to be designed to handle such events.
Water supply was another area that would be affected.
With bigger storm events and a drier east coast, the council needed to manage the system to meet demand for the next 50 to 100 years.
Supply was expected to drop, while demand was expected to increase, meaning more storage capacity would be required, and demand would have to be reduced.
‘‘That's starting to be thought about.''
The other big issue was sea level rise, he said.
An example of the way the council was planning for that was roadworks on Portobello Rd at Company Bay.
While only some parts of the road were being raised, the wall beside the road was being designed so it could be built up in future.
That allowed the work to be done in stages, and in response to what the actual rise was, rather than relying on predictions.
Other infrastructure issues would also require funding.
‘‘In the future we may have to move some of the wastewater pipes. They may be in inundated areas.''
‘‘We need to make sure clim ate change predictions are built into everything we're doing, rather than having a policy that says we need to do this, this and this.''
An important response to clim ate change would be in land use planning in the council's district plan.
The council would need to consider whether development needed to be restricted or excluded on land that could become inundated.
He expected that to be consid ered the next time the district plan was reviewed. The area between St Kilda beach and Portsmouth Dr was low lying, and included reclaimed land.
‘‘The council hasn't grappled with that yet, but that's where we're heading.''
Mr Avery said while combating the issue internationally was a job for the Government, the council had four roles: to reduce its own energy use, deal with infrastructure issues like roading and stormwater, consider the potential impacts in terms of land use, and raise awareness of the problem.
