We can’t save the climate by destroying nature

The biodiversity crisis is inextricably linked to the climate crisis, we can’t save the climate by destroying nature in the process. In fact, we need to repair nature to help solve climate change. The opening panel of the Sydney Environment Institute’s Climate and Biodiversity Crises Series will explore the broader planetary crisis and the interconnections between the climate and biodiversity crises.

In partnership with the Australian Conservation Foundation and as part of Sydney’s first Climate Action Week, a panel of leading voices from academia, not-for-profit, business and government will discuss the need for a unified approach. Protecting biodiversity serves as both a defence against climate change and a system threatened by it. Embracing this holistic perspective will be crucial for a resilient and thriving future.

This event is part of SEI's Climate and Biodiversity Crises Series. The public panel series brings together those working on climate solutions and nature damage to consider how these two crises can be addressed together.

Danielle Celermajer (Chair), Sydney Environment Institute

Danielle Celermajer is Acting Director of the Sydney Environment Institute, and a Professor of Sociology and Social Policy in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences at the University of Sydney. She is the Director of the Multispecies Justice Project and co-leads SEI’s research theme Environmental Justices. After living through the 2019/2020 NSW bushfires, Dany wrote of her experience of the “killing of everything”, which she calls “omnicide” and published her book Summertime: Reflections on a Vanishing Future.

Mitchell Gibbs, Indigenous marine biologist

Mitchell Gibbs is a proud Dunghutti man through kinship, and Lecturer and Postdoctoral Fellow at The University of Sydney in the Faculty of Science. From Indigenous traditional owners and knowledge holders, he learns about our environments and ways to manage those environments using shellfish-associated practices handed down through oral and lived histories and putting this into practice with habitat restoration work with the Gamay Rangers and the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council.

Basha Stasak, Australian Conservation Foundation

Basha Stasak is Nature Campaign Manager at the Australian Conservation Foundation (ACF). She is passionate about influencing system change to create positive social and environmental outcomes. Before joining ACF, she worked in state and federal politics, social enterprises, and grassroots organisations. Basha holds Bachelor of Laws and of Business and was recognised as the 2011 Western Australian Young Environmentalists of the Year. She is a keen climber and skier and enjoys exploring the world’s many mountain ranges.

Guy Williams, consultant in nature positive solutions

Guy Williams is an Executive Director at Pollination Group, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm, accelerating the transition to a net zero, nature positive and resilient future. Guy has over 20 years’ experience at the leading edge of industry innovation and strategy in biodiversity and natural capital. Prior to joining Pollination, Guy held global roles at some of the largest consulting and advisory firms, as well as being an integral part in the development of many nature-related frameworks and standards such as the TNFD and SBTN. Guy possesses a deep interest in primate conservation, and the use of digital media and community-led storytelling to support effective conservation strategies.

Jane DeGabriel, conservation scientist at the NSW Government

Dr Jane DeGabriel is the Senior Team Leader for Conservation Science in the Science and Insights Division at NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water. She leads a team of scientists conducting research and monitoring to improve conservation outcomes and management for threatened species and ecosystems in NSW, including through the Saving our Species program. Jane has a background in ecological research and has worked in a range of academic and government roles spanning wildlife research, conservation policy and threatened species management in Australia and the UK.