Carbon pricing has a long, conflicted history in Australia.

Yet for Associate Professor Paul Burke, this does not detract from its credibility.

“For economists, carbon pricing is seen as a key tool in the kit for reducing emissions.”

Paul, alongside colleagues Professor Frank Jotzo and Dr Rohan Best, recently published the largest ever study into the effect of carbon pricing on the growth rate of carbon dioxide emissions from the energy sector.

“In this paper, we wanted to look across the international experience to evaluate the effect of carbon pricing on emissions. The key challenge was controlling for the various other differences between countries, which we sought to do.”

The results pointed to the efficacy of carbon pricing.

“We found evidence that in otherwise similar countries, if one has a carbon price and one doesn’t, then the emissions growth rate tends to be lower in the one with the carbon price.”

“We found the difference in the emissions growth rate between countries with and without carbon pricing is about 2 percentage points, after taking various other factors into account, including the use of other policies. So, for example, instead of emissions growing by 1% per annum, if you implement a carbon price, you would expect a decline of about 1% per annum.”

“Another key finding was that a higher carbon price has more effect than a lower carbon price, as you’d expect.”

While the results point towards carbon pricing being effective, it alone is no magic bullet in the fight against climate change.

“If we want to be reducing emissions very quickly, then a carbon price is not likely to be enough on its own, unless set at a high level.”

Paul and his colleagues’ interest in carbon pricing stemmed from an interest in measuring the true effect size of carbon pricing.

“Reducing emissions is an important public policy issue. Around the world, carbon pricing is one of the main policy tools for doing that. So we were interested in evaluating the policy’s effectiveness.”

“Before we started, we didn’t know what we would find.”

Whilst this is not the first study to examine the effects of carbon pricing, it is the largest.

“There have been some previous studies evaluating individual carbon prices, but ours is the first to look at the issue from a very bird’s-eye view, across as many countries as possible.”

As for the possibility of re-introducing a carbon price here in Australia, Paul thinks the option deserves serious consideration.

“Australia’s two-year experiment with a broad carbon pricing scheme ended in mid-2014. The current policy framework means that most emissions face no effective price.”

“There are other ways to reduce emissions – one doesn’t have to go for a carbon price. However carbon pricing does have a lot of advantages and the evidence suggests that it is an effective tool.”

“A robust carbon pricing scheme is still a relevant idea for Australia. Most developed economies do have a carbon price of some type.”

You can read the paper ‘Carbon Pricing Efficacy: Cross-Country Evidence’ by Dr Rohan Best, Assoc Prof Paul Burke, and Prof Frank Jotzo here on the Springer Link website.

Australia is well known for its temperature extremes, with scorching hot summers and, in some areas, icy winters. 

These temperatures can be so extreme that they can be fatal.

Dr Thomas Longden has been looking into this issue.

“My research has focused on measuring the number of deaths that are associated with extreme temperatures in Australia.”

His most recent study into the issue specifically examined heat-related deaths in Australia. It assessed how often death certificates had ‘excessive natural heat’ recorded as a contributory factor. The results were staggering.

“My research found that in Australia, there were over 36,000 deaths associated with the heat between 2006 and 2017. This equates to about 2% of total deaths in Australia for this time period.”

 “We looked into the morbidities that are coded on the death certificate and found that only a few hundred death certificates had extreme heat recorded on them as a contributory factor.”

“This indicates that when doctors are filling out death certificates, they don’t focus on the external causes of death. Instead, they are mainly focused on the biological or internal causes of death.”

There are significant implications of not recording the impact of temperature on death certificates.

“As temperature-related deaths are one of the main measures we use to assess the impacts of climate change, it’s important we measure them accurately and consistently.”

 “One of the most confronting impacts of climate change is the risk of more deaths from hot weather. Heat stress can exacerbate existing health conditions including diabetes, kidney disease and heart disease. Older people are particularly vulnerable.”

In previous work, Thomas found several contributing factors to what makes certain heatwaves deadlier than others. Surprisingly, the hottest temperatures were not always the deadliest.

“Some of the worst heatwaves were actually in Melbourne, Adelaide, and Perth. The reason why they were the more deadly heatwaves is because they involved a rapid increase in temperature.”

“So although they weren’t reaching the hottest temperatures in the data set, the temperature change was so quick, and was so drastically different to the prevailing summer temperatures, that there was limited time for acclimatisation.”

Thomas also found an emerging trend across the deadliest heatwaves of the last decade.

“These heatwaves were different to others because there was a temperature threshold that was being passed.”

“When a heatwave is 7 degrees or more hotter than the prevailing 30-day average, it increases mortality by a significant amount.”

“Climate change will make these type of events more common, and potentially push the temperature above that threshold more often.”

Climate change may also mean that periods of the year where Australia experiences heatwaves will lengthen.

“It’s similar to what’s happening with the bushfire season.”

“The bushfire seasons are starting earlier and finishing later, and that’s potentially true for what’s going to happen with the risk of heat.  The troublesome period for many regions across Australia will lengthen.”

Thomas says these extended periods may catch people unawares.

“I think that’s a really dangerous possibility in coming decades, where people get caught out by strong heatwaves that happen in abnormal times of the year.”

 “November and March may have more heat-related deaths in the future, whereas previously the hottest and most dangerous events tended to be in January or February.” 

Thomas’ next area of focus is on how vulnerability to temperature extremes differs across communities. For example, a recent working paper focused on temperature-related mortality across occupation groups in Mexico. It examined the impact of heat and cold across agricultural, informal, blue-collar, white-collar, and unemployed workers.

“One thing that we need to understand is how vulnerability changes across socio-economic groups and occupations. For Mexico, we found that white-collar workers are significantly more resilient to or protected from extreme temperatures than other labour groups.”

“We need an improved understanding about who is most impacted by heatwaves and cold-waves. That’s where some of my recent research has focused, and we are trying to get a sense of the underlying factors that are driving vulnerability.”

"This vulnerability is not just a health issue, it’s an energy-security issue, it’s an equity issue, and typically it’s impacting people who are already vulnerable to other issues.”

“A lot of people can stay indoors in air-conditioned houses; and if their bills go up many can afford it, but there’s a lot of people who can’t.”

“There’s plenty of scope for having better energy efficiency, and better initiatives to make sure that access to heating and cooling in homes doesn’t differ by suburb and socio-economics.”

Dr Thomas Longden’s most recent studies include:

‘Heat-related mortality: an urgent need to recognise and record’ published in The Lancet Planetary Health

 ‘The impact of temperature on mortality across different climate zones’ published in Climatic Change

‘Extreme temperature, mortality and occupation’ released as a working paper

The Australian National University is part of a consortium for a new Climate Systems ‘mega’ research hub, which is part of the next phase of Australia’s National Environmental Science Program. The Hub consortium is led by CSIRO, and includes the Bureau of Meteorology, Monash University, University of Melbourne, University of NSW, and the University of Tasmania. The hub will come into effect in early 2021.

Prof David Stern co-authored research with Stephan Bruns and Zsuzsanna Csereklyei in the Journal of Econometrics, on modelling the ocean-atmosphere system using an econometric time series model. The authors estimate that the equilibrium climate sensitivity is 2.8ºC, which is close to the scientific consensus and higher than previous models using econometric methods.

A team led by Dr Steven Lade and Prof Will Steffen quantitatively assessed how human pressures on one part of the Earth system, such as carbon emissions, can affect the safe levels of pressures in other parts of the Earth system, such as water extraction or nutrient use.

Dr Steven Lade also held a position as a research scientist at the Earth Commission Secretariat. The Earth Commission will assess the Earth system conditions for a safe and just corridor for human development. In 2020, Prof Xuemei Bai has also been engaged as the co-lead of the Earth Commission's Working Group on Translation and Methods.

Dr Mona Mahani has been developing a global trend analysis of the frost season length, as shown in the figure below, noted as frost window. From a global perspective, the analysis demonstrates that despite an overall warming trend in the annual minimum temperature over the last four decades, there exist regions of localised increase in frost season length. These regions showing positive trends are depicted in blue, which indicates broadening of the frost window and therefore cooling conditions, whereas the regions depicted in red indicate negative trends and hence warming conditions. Understanding these changes at global scale is an important step in determining exposure, vulnerability and focus for adaptation. In addition, it could be particularly important at regional scale for the agricultural sector in managing the frost risk and minimising the frost-related losses.

A figure from the frost analysis research by Dr Mona Mahani. The figure demonstrates that despite an overall warming trend in the annual minimum temperature over the last four decades, there exist regions of localised increased in frost season length.

Dr Ruth O’Connor, Prof Joan Leach, Dr Lorrae Van Kerkoff, and others, co-authored a paper exploring how environmental managers engage in collaborative research. The paper drew upon two cases from Australia and South Africa. The results showed that environmental managers generally valued science and were shown to contribute knowledge about stakeholders, local ecosystems and how to apply science like climate modelling. However, their input to issue definition at project conception was limited.

Dr Claudia Munera Roldan and Assoc. Prof Lorrae Van Kerkoff published research exploring whether, how and to what extent the governance of knowledge helps or hinders managerial change towards more proactive climate adaptation. They found that the results of scientific experimentation and modelling (mainly in the natural sciences) are often stated as the preferred source of knowledge to inform decision making, forming a dominant narrative that climate adaptation can and should be driven by scientific and technical information. However, institutional arrangements in practice were typically more diverse in the knowledge sources that contribute to protected area policy and practice. They propose that understanding institutional arrangements that shape adaptation decision contexts can help to address barriers for using climate information effectively, including understanding its limitations.

Distinguished Prof Xuemei Bai co-authored a paper that analyses the water, carbon, reactive nitrogen, and phosphorus footprints of food consumption in Chinese urban regions, and demonstrates how such information can help to formulate tailored mitigation strategies. The results show that in three of the largest urban regions of China, 44–93% of the four footprints are embodied in transboundary food supply. The size of the footprints and the effectiveness of mitigation measures in food supply chain vary across the environmental footprints and urban regions. However, targeting agriculture and food processing sectors in only three provinces can reduce these footprints by up to 47%. The findings show that the analysis of the environmental footprints along the transboundary food supply chains could inform individualized and effective mitigation targets and strategies.

Prof Bai also co-authored a paper titled Systematising and upscaling urban climate change mitigation. The paper highlights four core areas for systematizing and upscaling urban climate mitigation solutions. These are a) more and better data and associated machine learning methods, as there is increasing potential to compare types of cities and leverage collective understanding; b) demand-side action as related to both behavioural change and modified social practices relevant to urban space deserve more academic attention and integration across a diverse set of social sciences; c) at the urban scale, measures and solutions that coordinate mitigation coherently with adaptation and broader sustainable development goals require explicit conceptualization and systematization; d) developing governance frameworks that translate scientific exercises into concrete, realistic and organized action plans on the ground, for all cities.

Prof Iain Walker was successful in his funding bid for his research proposal Building community resilience to promote mental health in bushfire-affected communities. This bid was part of the Australian Government’s $5 million investment into the Medical Research Future Fund, for research on the health effects of the recent bushfires.

Prof Warwick McKibbin co-authored a paper that analysed the economic and environmental outcomes that are likely to result from the Paris Climate Agreement. The authors found that if all regions achieve their NDCs, the Agreement significantly reduces CO2 emissions relative to baseline. However, global emissions would not decline in absolute terms relative to 2015 levels, let alone follow a path consistent with a 2 °C stabilization scenario. The authors also found that leaving the Agreement raises GDP for the country that leaves, but it also sharply reduces the domestic co-benefits the country receives as a side effect of controlling CO2. For each country they considered, the net effect of withdrawing is negative: the loss of co-benefits exceeds the gain in GDP. That is, we show that when co-benefits are considered, it is in each country's self-interest to remain in the Agreement.

Despite this, the authors found that there are still large climate benefits produced by the Agreement. They also found that every region receives a net benefit from participating in the Agreement, and that all regions are better off participating in the Agreement than withdrawing from it – even without accounting for the co-benefits. In monetary value, the global climate benefit of the Agreement through to 2030 is $2.25 trillion.

Prof McKibbin also contributed to Chapter 3 of the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook. The chapter is titled Mitigating climate change – growth-and-distribution-friendly strategies. The chapter suggests that combining steadily rising carbon prices with an initial push in green investment would see both the necessary reduction in emissions, as well as placing the global economy on a more sustainable and strong footing in the medium term. 

Dr Tayanah O’Donnell authored and co-authored several papers on coastal climate policy across Australia, managed and planned retreat, and the complex relationship between coastal private property rights and climate change adaptation.

In a paper published in the Ocean and Coastal Management journal, Dr O’Donnell examines critical legal geography and coastal climate change adaptation. In particular, she examines the role that complex political ecologies and legal geographies have played in underpinning a decade of idealised integrated coastal management in New South Wales, Australia.

In another paper, Contrasting land use policies for climate change adaptation: A case study of political and geo-legal realities for Australian coastal locations, Dr O’Donnell critically examines how local governments use law and land use policy to respond to climate change adaptation in three coastal localities in New South Wales, Australia.

Dr O’Donnell published a paper regarding private coastal properties, which examines cultural ideas about private property and the complexities of using land use planning law as an enabler of climate change adaptation. 

Dr O’Donnell also co-edited, published a chapter for, the publication Legal Geography: Perspectives and Methods. Dr O’Donnell’s chapter is titled Inside-Outside: An Interrogation of Coastal Climate Change Adaptation Through the Gaze of ‘The Lawyer’.

Prof Libby Robins published a paper in the Journal of the Philosophy of History, which considers how the new epoch of Earth, the Anthropocene, where humans have become a geological force, poses challenges for exhibitions and reshapes museums themselves. Prof Robins states that crucial to managing stories, collections and objects in Anthropocene times is the capacity to change course, to remain open to new developments, using performances, events and “pop-up” exhibitions alongside traditional museum offerings.

PhD Scholar Yuan Peng published a paper with Distinguished Prof Xuemei Bai, examining the direct and flow-on effects of a city-level direct-funding scheme on urban low-carbon initiatives, taking Shanghai as a case study.

The finding shows that, over the 11 years of its implementation, the fund has led to a carbon reduction outcome and has become a catalyst for a series of institutional changes by enabling and enhancing cooperation across numerous government departments in Shanghai.

The study demonstrates that a well-designed, city-level direct-funding scheme can fill the “implementation” gap between the policy intentions (i.e. the low-carbon initiatives and implementation framework) and the policy outcomes (e.g. carbon reduction and the institutional formation in the transition). More importantly, it may nurture and enable a pool of policy experiments and innovations for effective policy learning, which may justify the potential attractiveness of a city-level direct fund in managing the low-carbon transition.

PhD Scholar Yan Zhang published research co-authored by Distinguished Prof Xuemei Bai, and Assoc. Prof Franklin Mills, exploring occupants' energy-related behaviour in residential buildings with empirical data from a large-scale survey in Beijing, China. The study aimed to present an in-depth and comprehensive picture of occupant behaviour. The results show that, typically, purchase behaviour is overall energy-efficient, as most appliances purchased are energy efficient. On the other hand, there is a lack of apparent linkage between purchase and habitual behaviours, a comprehensive policy framework incorporating different measures for different types of behaviour is necessary. The complexity underlying behavioural choices also suggests the necessity of better understanding the behavioural patterns and their determining factors, as well as avoiding any simplistic assumption in policymaking that aims to consider behavioural factors.

CCI member Dr Tayanah O’Donnell is also the Director of Future Earth Australia, and was a member of the Expert Reference Group for the Sustainable Cities and Regions – 10 year strategy to enable urban systems transformation report, that was co-produced with the Australian Academy of Science.

Prof Frank Jotzo co-authored a working paper that reviews and evaluates key policy initiatives and strategies designed to strengthen regional economic, social and environmental outcomes in the Latrobe Valley (Victoria, Australia) in the three years following the closure of the Hazelwood power station. The paper finds that Hazelwood case study provides support for a number of propositions about successful regional energy transition including that well managed, just transitions to a prosperous zero-carbon economy are likely to be strengthened by proactive, well integrated industry policy and regional renewal strategies; respectful and inclusive engagement with workers and communities; and adequately funded, well-coordinated public investment in economic and community strategies, tailored to regional strengths and informed by local experience.

Prof Jotzo also co-authored a paper, alongside PhD Scholar Zeba Anjum and Dr Thomas Longden, that takes stock of approaches for evaluating and choosing options for public investment in projects and programs that support economic recovery, are consistent with a low-carbon transition, and bring broader economic, environmental and social benefits. The paper finds that promising categories for public stimulus include renewable energy supply, including by fast-tracking renewable energy zones and transmission investment, some types of transport infrastructure projects, energy efficiency programs including retrofits of public housing and buildings, and land management projects including to restore ecosystems that were damaged in Australia’s bushfires. Investments like these hold promise to create jobs and local economic activity, while supporting lower-carbon outcomes and achieving other societal goals.

Prof Jotzo also co-authored an analysis of China’s recent Government Work Report, in light of China’s decisions regarding low-carbon stimulus following COVID-19. The analysis suggests that while a repeat of recovery measures focused on high-emissions infrastructure following the 2008 global recession is not in the cards, a Chinese Green New Deal is not in sight either. Much investment is flowing to fossil fuel industries, whilst support policies for renewable energy industries are absent from Beijing’s recovery program.

PhD Scholar Ruirui Zhu, Assoc. Prof Barry Croke, and Prof Anthony Jakeman co-authored research looking into the impact of climate change on groundwater discharge in respond to groundwater levels in the Murrumbidgee River in Australia since 1975. They found that all eight of the headwater catchments they studied in the Murrumbidgee have experienced significant reductions in groundwater discharge since the 1990s. These reductions show a close correlation with climate factors and can largely (estimated here at >75%) be attributed to climate factors. The decrease in precipitation combined with the increase in potential evapotranspiration together contribute to the noticeable decrease in groundwater discharge, with the decrease in precipitation outweighing the increase in potential evapotranspiration in reducing groundwater discharge. In particular, the decreasing rainfall in autumn accounts for the largest proportion of the decrease in groundwater discharge although groundwater discharge is the most sensitive to winter rainfall. The authors suggest that there needs to be more research into the relationship between groundwater and climate factors, to better understand how climate change will impact groundwater.

Dr Ruth O’Connor co-authored a paper investigating the relationship between water temperature and the aquatic life in a hot spring complex in north Queensland. The findings indicate consistent increases in water temperature expected under climate change could decrease biological richness in tropical aquatic ecosystems.

The ANU Climate Change Institute, alongside Monash University, Curtin University, The University of Queensland, Queensland University of Technology, and CSIRO, have collaborated on the submission for a national and international initiative, ARC Research Hub for Carbon Reuse and Transforming Emissions, or ‘ARC RECREATE’. The submission’s outcome will be determined by mid next year.

This Research Hub aims to transform carbon emissions in the natural gas and chemical sectors of the Australian economy through a comprehensive program of research and development aimed at creating value from carbon dioxide emissions.

We would like to extend thanks to all ANU Chief Investigators (CIs) on this initiative:

Key CI #5: Assoc. Prof Llewelyn Hughes

CIs:

• Prof Wojciech Lipinski
• Assoc. Prof Zongyou Yin
• Dr Emma Aisbett
• Dr Fiona Beck

PhD Scholar Nic Badullovich, with co-authors Dr Will Grant and Dr Bec Colvin, authored a systematic map of the literature evidencing the effect of framing in climate change communications.

PhD Scholar Inez Harker-Schuch, with co-authors Dr Steve Lade, Assoc. Prof Frank Mills and Dr Bec Colvin, published research on children’s attitudes about climate change in Australia and Austria.

Dr Bec Colvin published an analysis of the media representation of social identity divisions associated with the “Stop Adani Convoy” protest movement. This analysis also featured as a Research Highlight in the Nature Energy publication.

Dr Bec Colvin also, alongside Prof Helen Ross and Assoc. Prof Claudia Baldwin, authored an editorial for the Australasian Journal of Environmental Management on social dimensions of energy system change.

Prof Sotiris Vardoulakis co-authored a special issue in the journal The Science of the Total Environment on Urban Environmental Health Interventions towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Cities around the world, and particularly in rapidly urbanising low and middle-income countries, face many challenges related to overpopulation, lack of adequate resources and infrastructure, climate change, urban heat islands, extreme weather, air pollution, and related illnesses, inequalities and productivity losses. This special issue focuses on the solutions that promote the Climate Action and other SDGs.

Prof Vardoulakis also co-authored research and health communication around smoke exposure during the catastrophic bushfires of 2019/2020. This involved a number of publications which highlighted the need consistent and nuanced health messaging, and emphasised the link between air pollution, bushfires, and climate change. One piece was published in the Medical Journal of Australia, and another was published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal.

Prof Vardoulakis also co-authored a publication on how to overcome barriers among primary healthcare professionals in tackling the health risks of heatwaves and dengue fever under climate change in China.

Dr Thomas Longden co-authored a working paper examining the impact of heat and cold across agricultural, informal, blue-collar, white-collar, and unemployed workers. The results show that white-collar workers are significantly more resilient to extreme temperatures than other labour groups, especially the elderly/retired, agrarian, and informal laborers.

Dr Steven Crimp is continuing his work as Project Leader of the Climate Change Agriculture opportunities for enhanced food production in Papua New Guinea project, with the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR). This project is improving food security outcomes in rural farming communities in Papua New Guinea by informing food productions decisions with seasonal climate information. Dr Rachel Friedman has also been contributing to this project.

Dr Crimp and Dr Friedman have also been contributing to the newly formed Resilience Initiative for Food and Agriculture, which is a partnership between the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Australian National University, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The goals of the Initiative are to gain better insights into food system resilience in the Asia-Pacific, deliver development-ready solutions based on excellent science, shaped by local contexts and build capacity for resilience through in-country partnerships.

Third year undergraduate student Ben Galea, Prof Jamie Pittock, and Dr Steven Crimp, published research looking into the implications of new hydropower stations in the lower Mekong River basin on fish populations. They found that the dams would cause declines in fish populations, which would then need to be replaced with other sources of protein in order to maintain food security in the region. If the fish protein was replaced with beef, it would cause more than a 20% increase in annual greenhouse gas emissions in Cambodia, and 4-12% increase in annual emissions from Laos. This demonstrates that although hydropower is a source of lower-emissions electricity, the flow-on impacts of developing the hydropower stations can lead to increases in emissions from other sectors. The authors argue that this needs to be taken into account, as it challenges whether hydropower can be seen as a ‘clean energy’ option in the area.

Demi Tinning (pictured) says the research projects she undertook in her Master of Climate Change program have led her to consider research as a possible career path.

For Demi Tinning, studying a Master of Climate Change was an opportunity to make a difference in the world.

“After my undergraduate degree, I wanted to look at doing more study, but in a way that has real-world experience. Where what you do is tangible – I wanted it to count towards something.”

“I think that the Master of Climate Change is really good at that.”

Initially, she tossed up between pursuing further study in resource management or climate change.

“I ended up going with the Master of Climate Change program because it was so broad, you can fit any of your research and passions into it, and mould the program around your goals and interests.”

“In this Masters, I’ve been able to study the intersections between environmental and human health, natural hazards, earth science, biodiversity, international diplomacy, science communication, and also natural resource management.”

The Master of Climate Change has also given Demi the opportunity to undertake research projects, which has opened up her eyes to a new potential career path.

“I’ve been able to do two research-related courses – one through the Australian National Internships Program, and one through the ANU Climate Change Institute. I learnt a lot from these – they allowed me to write and research topics that I’d never really thought about before, and that I wouldn’t have looked into if I hadn’t been undertaking these projects.”

“I hadn’t really considered research as a career before, but I found that I really enjoyed these projects, which has made me start thinking along different career pathways.”

As Demi wraps up her final semester of the program, she finds it hard to pick just one favourite moment from her Masters.

“I can’t really think of one specific highlight, I’ve really loved all of the program!”

“One reason why I think the whole experience has been a highlight for me is because of the attention that the teaching staff give. During the COVID-19 lockdown, all my study plans changed, and I was worried that I might not even graduate this year, but they helped me out, and it turned out to not be a stressful situation at all in the end!”

“I’ve also loved meeting so many peers who are from all walks of life, and have such different perspectives to myself – I made friends from overseas that had completely different life experiences, and amazing jobs, and interesting experiences.”

And would she recommend the program to others?

“Yes! Climate change is such a broad issue, and the fact that it’s interdisciplinary means you can come into it from any area and see how you can apply your skills passions and goals.”

“It’s so valuable to encourage students to consider multiple perspectives, because these challenges are really complex.”

 “This Masters allows you to do that. It’s a really holistic approach, and it’s really important to approach such a big problem this way.”

The Master of Climate Change program has been recently updated, and now takes just 18 months full-time. To find out more, please visit the Programs and Courses page.

Through his PhD research, Phaothai hopes to help those in his homeland who are impacted by increasing flooding.

Flooding in the floodplain area of Lower Northern Thailand has been having disastrous consequences for the locals for decades.

Growing up in the region, Phaothai lived through many of these flooding events, but did not see any resolutions forthcoming.

“The commonly given reason for the flooding is that there is no dam infrastructure upstream; however the reality is much more complicated than this.”

“Climate change has been causing unprecedented levels of flooding which are impacting people’s lives, and people are beginning to realise this now.”

With a background as a lecturer in Human Geography, Phaothai came to The Australian National University in 2017 to research possible ways for individuals in rural and urban communities to stabilise their situation, and transform flood risk management in their area. 

“Through my PhD research, I hope to contribute to making significant changes for people in my homeland to live with floods more peacefully.”

For his research, Phaothai has been working closely with both local people and those in government positions.

“The concept of ‘community-based adaptation’ is key for this process, to address the multiple pressures that the local people are facing from climate variability, centralised development and technocratic governing.”

 “I spent more than a year doing fieldwork in Thailand to help develop provincial planning processes. I worked closely across different social groups, to learn what local people have been doing on surrounding landscapes to help live with the floods, and trying to reach out to policymakers and practitioners to understand the situation from their perspectives.”

During his fieldwork, Phaothai realised the importance of putting a spotlight on the local communities, who are left out of policy and planning processes.

“There has been no collaboration with these people in terms of developing policies. Yet they are the most important agent in reflecting the inequality between rural and urban communities, and reflecting who in the community is impacted most by the flooding.”

“Even though some of them, such as rural farmers, women, elderly people in the city and the urban poor, perceived themselves or are labelled as vulnerable during flooding, they put the hardest effort to anticipate a better future for the community. They also raised the principle of sharing the risks of flooding more equitably between rural and urban settlements, which is an idea that the state government has not raised.”

Moving forward, Phaothai says there needs to be more collaboration between policy-makers, practitioners, and the community.

“In order to balance out power dynamics, the state government should involve the local people in developing policies and responses to the flooding. Academic and civil society sectors, from regional to international levels, as well as the river basin committee, should facilitate iterative learning from the local people about flood-related and livelihood contexts to reform policy.”

Addressing climate change adaptation will be key to this, says Phaothai.

“Climate change is being seen as the ‘next important step’ that requires the government to really concentrate on diverse livelihood patterns and alternatives to adapt better to increasing climatic variability. These adaptation measures can be co-designed with local people themselves.”

The ANU Climate Change Institute awarded Phaothai with a supplementary PhD scholarship in 2018. He has used the funds to participate in both fieldwork and conferences, as well as enrolling in some specific courses to develop his research and expand his expertise to help local communities in the future.

Credit: Sumarie Slabber/Flickr

In 2020, the Climate Change Institute ran two online professional short courses on recent advances in climate science and the social, policy and economic aspects of climate change.

Due to the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions, the courses were successfully transitioned to online delivery.

Offering the courses online allowed  participants to join from across Australia, rather than just those in Canberra.

What people said:

“This was quite possibly the best course I've attended. The content was fascinating and the presenters absolutely nailed the level of detail required for the level of knowledge that I have.”

“The course had a fantastic collection of sessions which complemented each other to create a really great foundation for work on climate science/ policy.”

“It was an excellent experience and I'm grateful to have heard from the wonderful speakers and engaged with the participants. It was particularly valuable looking at climate change through a multitude of lenses in quick succession, as it served as a reminder that in order to address it appropriately, we really need to take a transcontextual approach.”

For information on future short course offerings, please email climate@anu.edu.au

 

On Monday 28 Sept – Thursday 1 Oct, 2020, the Climate Change Institute held a short course titled Climate Essentials for Agriculture.

The course provided an overview of the latest developments around climate change for those working in agriculture and on food security. It covered both the science of climate change and how we can respond.

100% of respondents to our survey on the course said that they would discuss what they had learnt in the course with others.

What people said:

“Current, relevant, important information, would recommend to everyone”

“The program was very good, well organised and great content. One of the better ones I have attended.”

“It’s amazing to have time with the scientists, I really appreciated being able to speak to the people leading the science in this space and I think it's invaluable to the industry and society that we are in close contact with our scientists.”

For information on future short course offerings, please email climate@anu.edu.au

The Master of Climate Change program has been revised to a new, shorter 72 unit structure, allowing students to complete in the equivalent of 1.5 years of full time study (instead of 2 years). The program offers significant breadth and depth of study in climate change science and policy, including economics, law, policy and governance aspects.

You can find out more about the revised Master of Climate Change on its Programs and Courses webpage.

The new Graduate Certificate in Climate Policy was launched in 2020. This 24 unit program (equivalent to 1 semester of full time study) may be completed in-person, online, or a combination of study modes.

The Graduate Certificate in Climate Policy provides the opportunity to develop a cutting-edge understanding of climate policy, informed by research-led teaching delivered by some of the world’s leading researchers in climate policy.

You can find out more about the Graduate Certificate on its Programs and Courses webpage. You can also find out more about other ANU Graduate Certificates that include study on climate change here.

ANU Medical School ran a project to develop new learning resources on climate change and health in collaboration with current medical students and in partnership with the Council of Academic Public Health Institutions Australasia (CAPHIA). This project was led by CCI member Dr Claudia Slimings.

There is currently a gap in formal learning and teaching in medical schools in Australia on the future human health impacts of climate and other ecological consequences of human actions. This project sought to address this gap. 

The resources were delivered for the first time in October 2020 to students in their 2nd year of the ANU medical degree (MChD).

The content of the e-learning module was structured as the problem (contribution of human activity to environmental changes), the effect (mechanisms by which human health is affected by climate change), and the solution (the role of health care professionals in advocating for policies and infrastructure that promote healthy and environmentally sustainable behaviours).

The group work consisted of a 2-hour facilitated tutorial using Zoom, designed to develop advocacy skills and identify practical ways to contribute to improving planetary health using a set of trigger scenarios.

Future plans for the project are to disseminate the learning resources through ANU-wide, national and international networks of students, educators and practitioners.

The project was funded by an ANU Linkage for Learning & Teaching Grant (round 1 2020), $15,040.

In addition to the existing 119 courses on climate change at ANU, Professor Nerilie Abram and Dr Joelle Gergis have developed a new undergraduate course to provide a multidisciplinary foundation for understanding climate variability and change from regional to global scales.

For more information on the course, and future offerings, you can visit its Programs and Courses webpage.

A creative piece by Caitlyn Baljak, a student of the ENVS3013 Climate Change: Past, Present and Future course, depicting Autumn rainfall anomalies in south-east Australia.

Dr Joëlle Gergis, Assoc. Prof Geoff Cary, Dr Luigi Renzullo and Dr Joseph Guillaume developed and presented a renewed coursework offering on ‘Fire, Flood and Drought’ in the Fenner School of Environment and Society. Previously, the course was titled ‘Weather, Climate and Fire’.

The course provides a foundation for understanding Australian weather, climate, and bushfire science. You can find out more about this course offering here on its Programs and Courses page.

This year, the community course, The climate change debate: truth, lies, and misconceptions, also went online. This course features presentations by a range of Climate Change Institute members, and explores the science, history and issues surrounding the issue of climate change.  You can find out more about the course, and enrol for the next offering in 2021, on this ANU Centre for Continuing Education webpage.