Abstract
From Panel Session 1 'A national adaptation reform agenda: what is needed?'
Day 2, 1:00pm, Tuesday 25th July, Climate Adaptation 2023: Act Together - Act Now
Australia needs substantial investments in research to develop innovative responses to the intensifying threats posed by climate change. The recent floods, bushfires and droughts provide evidence of the escalating social and environmental costs. New approaches are required, yet the scale of the research investment required is inadequate. Like a war, climate change is a threat to people, social stability, quality of life, the economy, and infrastructure. We need modern and effective ways of defending ourselves from the impacts of ever increasing natural hazards. For instance, we should investigate interventions, which could redirect the trajectories of cyclones or prevent catastrophic bushfires.
Over the next decade, the Government will invest $3.4 billion to establish the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator to deliver the capabilities needed by the Australian Defence Force. A comparable fund is needed to defend Australia from intensifying natural hazards, and to deliver meaningful adaptation strategies. Given the scale of the threats, existing funding of strategic research is insufficient. Transformative adaptation options are not being investigated because institutions mostly fund incremental research.
Australia needs to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to adaptation research, with new institutional structures to overcome the lack of coordination. New arrangements should build on previous Commonwealth initiatives tackling national priorities, such as Land and Water Australia and the National Water Commission. To build research capacity, the Commonwealth should invest in thousands of well-funded PhD scholarships on disaster risk reduction, transformative adaptation and regional resilience. These proposals are critical to developing civil defence capabilities, enabling transformative governance and avoiding costly future problems. A failure to plan for these known threats is to plan for failure.
Day 2, 1:00pm, Tuesday 25th July, Climate Adaptation 2023: Act Together - Act Now
Australia needs substantial investments in research to develop innovative responses to the intensifying threats posed by climate change. The recent floods, bushfires and droughts provide evidence of the escalating social and environmental costs. New approaches are required, yet the scale of the research investment required is inadequate. Like a war, climate change is a threat to people, social stability, quality of life, the economy, and infrastructure. We need modern and effective ways of defending ourselves from the impacts of ever increasing natural hazards. For instance, we should investigate interventions, which could redirect the trajectories of cyclones or prevent catastrophic bushfires.
Over the next decade, the Government will invest $3.4 billion to establish the Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator to deliver the capabilities needed by the Australian Defence Force. A comparable fund is needed to defend Australia from intensifying natural hazards, and to deliver meaningful adaptation strategies. Given the scale of the threats, existing funding of strategic research is insufficient. Transformative adaptation options are not being investigated because institutions mostly fund incremental research.
Australia needs to commit hundreds of millions of dollars to adaptation research, with new institutional structures to overcome the lack of coordination. New arrangements should build on previous Commonwealth initiatives tackling national priorities, such as Land and Water Australia and the National Water Commission. To build research capacity, the Commonwealth should invest in thousands of well-funded PhD scholarships on disaster risk reduction, transformative adaptation and regional resilience. These proposals are critical to developing civil defence capabilities, enabling transformative governance and avoiding costly future problems. A failure to plan for these known threats is to plan for failure.
Original language | English |
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Publication status | Published - 2023 |
Event | Climate Adaptation 2023 - Adelaide, Australia Duration: 25 Jul 2023 → 27 Jul 2023 https://www.ivvy.com.au/event/CA2023/welcome.html |
Conference
Conference | Climate Adaptation 2023 |
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Abbreviated title | CA2023 |
Country/Territory | Australia |
City | Adelaide |
Period | 25/07/23 → 27/07/23 |
Internet address |