NSW climate update 2021
2020 was a year full of uncertainties. While the devastating 2019/20 fires that tore down the east coast placed a spotlight on Australia’s failure to address climate change, focus quickly shifted to the coronavirus pandemic that was rapidly spreading around the world.
As COVID-19 continues to wreak havoc and dominate news cycles, it’s crucial we take stock of the current state of climate change. What climate impacts have we witnessed in the past year and who has been most impacted? Are we on track to meet our climate targets? What can we do to respond more effectively?
Bringing together policymakers, industry, researchers and the wider community the NSW Climate Update 2021 will present a locally-focused snapshot of the latest climate research. Hear from climate experts and those working on the front-line of the transition to a low carbon economy, as they discuss newly released data on the climate throughout 2020, continuing climate impacts on Indigenous communities, and the energy transition in NSW.
This event was co-presented by the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions online on Monday 15 February 2021.
Watch the video
Speakers
Professor Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy, and Disaster Solutions. He has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups via both research and science-policy roles. He helped develop both the national and international greenhouse gas inventories that are a fundamental part of the Paris Agreement and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions.
Minister Matt Kean is the current NSW Minister for Energy and Environment. As a keen promoter of innovative technology and its power to improve the economy, his focus is on the ways innovative technology and thinking can improve quality of life, as well as the NSW economy.
Professor David Schlosberg (Chair) is Professor of Environmental Politics in the Department of Government and International Relations at the University of Sydney, and Director of the Sydney Environment Institute. His work focuses on contemporary environmental and environmental justice movements, environment and everyday life, and climate adaptation planning and policy.
Professor Jakelin Troy is the Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research at the University of Sydney. Professor Troy’s research focuses on documenting, describing and reviving Indigenous languages, including her new focus on the Indigenous languages of Pakistan, including Saraiki of the Punjab and Torwali of Swat. She is interested in the use of Indigenous research methodologies and community-engaged research practises. Professor Troy is an Aboriginal Australian and her community is Ngarigu of the Snowy Mountains in southeastern Australia.
Georgina Woods is a founding member of the Hunter Jobs Alliance, a new initiative of thirteen local and statewide unions and environmental advocacy groups in the region. An established figurehead as a Newcastle environmentalist, Georgina focuses her efforts on community-based transition alliances and actions.
Header image: Roger Bishop via Shutterstock ID: 1030924162