1. Extreme Heat Events in Australia 1844-2010
2. SDGs and Climate Compatible Development
3. Better Growth Better Climate – Climate Economy Report
4. Wicked Problems in Climate Change Decision-making in Australia
5. The Backward Evolution of Sea-Level Rise Policy in Australia
6. UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction-2015
Extreme Heat Events in Australia 1844-2010
This paper documents a detailed exploration of Australian human mortality using a long time series of extreme heat events, and compares this toll with other natural hazards in Australia. It investigates spatio-temporal trends of the vulnerability of different population groups. The time period of interest is from 1844 to the present due to quality and quantity limitations in pre-1844 data. The paper examines victims’ circumstances and activity at time of death.
Exploring 167 Years of Vulnerability: An Examination of Extreme Heat Events in Australia 1844–2010, Lucinda Coates et al., Environmental Science & Policy, Vol. 42, pp. 33-44, October 2014 [Open Access]
SDGs and Climate Compatible Development
Three national dialogues were held in Colombia, Indonesia and Kenya to provide a platform for developing country perspectives on how climate change should be integrated into the sustainable development goals (SDGs). This paper captures the key arguments and views of developing country stakeholders from each of the dialogues. It summarizes the issue of including climate change within the SDGs, and presents the answers to various questions from the developing country perspective in the form of key messages arising from the dialogues.
The Sustainable Development Goals – Will They Deliver Climate Compatible Development for Vulnerable Countries? Helen Picot and Nicholas Moss, Working Paper, Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), September 2014 [1.41 MB, PDF]
Better Growth Better Climate – Climate Economy Report
The report (a major assessment commissioned by governments of seven countries: Colombia, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Norway, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom) considers how best to achieve prosperity and development at the same time as reducing carbon emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change. It concludes that, regardless of current economic status, there is the opportunity for all economies to grow while still moving to a low-carbon, climate adapted future.
Better Growth Better Climate: The New Climate Economy Report, World Resources Institute, Washington, DC, USA, 2014 [3.44 MB, PDF]
Wicked Problems in Climate Change Decision-making in Australia
The paper finds that the political challenges of managing adaptive change are numerous, given the closely interconnected nature of social, technical, legal–political, economic, and natural-resource issues. It argues that a strategic adaptation framework (requiring pluralistic and adaptive processes, such as multi-stakeholder forums, scenario analyses, and the use of boundary organizations) is necessary to complement ongoing mitigation efforts directed at greenhouse gas reduction.
Evidence, Uncertainty, and Wicked Problems in Climate Change Decision-making in Australia, Brian W Head, Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 663-679, 2014 [subscription required]
The Backward Evolution of Sea-Level Rise Policy in Australia
The article uses the Queensland example as a case study of evolving sea-level rise policy, and assesses the legal risk implications for local government. It demonstrates that the legal risks associated with failing to plan for sea-level rise are too grave for governments to allow political ideology to affect the implementation of effective policy.
Retreat from Retreat – The Backward Evolution of Sea-Level Rise Policy in Australia, and the Implications for Local Government, Justine Bell and Mark Baker-Jones, Thomson Reuters, 2014 [367 KB, PDF]
UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction-2015
UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction-2015 will take place in Sendai, Japan from 14-18 March 2015. It will be composed of three main segments of discussions: an intergovernmental segment (composing of dialogues, ministerial roundtables and an official plenary session), a multi-stakeholder segment (including working sessions, ignite stage, study tours) and a public forum aiming to promote a shared responsibility of reducing risks and building resilience.
UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction-2015, Sendai, Japan, United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR), 14-18 March 2015
For further information, please contact the editor, Dr. Saleem Janjua: muhammadsaleem.janjua@rmit.edu.au
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Professor Darryn McEvoy, Program Leader, RMIT University Climate Change Adaptation Programme
Professor Peter Hayes, Co-founder and Executive Director of Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability
Dr. Saleem Janjua, Editor, AdaptNet
AdaptNet is a free fortnightly report produced by RMIT University Global Cities Research Institute’s Climate Change Adaptation Programme, Melbourne, Australia. It is published in partnership with the Nautilus Institute for Security and Sustainability.