future earth australia and climate-kic present:

climate science in industry: governance, standards and accessibility

Information about the impacts of climate change has historically been of most interest to researchers and policymakers. However the private sector, spurred on by regulation, stakeholder expectations, and risk awareness, is increasingly seeking to understand how it will be affected by climate change. This pursuit of industry-relevant climate information has implications for the public, which is affected by climate change and funds most core climate science research, but may be limited in their ability to access and interpret this research. It raises both technical and equity questions for policymakers, researchers, regulators, companies, consumers and civil society.

CLIMATE SCIENCE IN INDUSTRY: GOVERNANCE, STANDARDS AND ACCESSIBILITY

23rd November 2018

9.00am - 12.00pm

ABS Lecture Theatre 1170, University of Sydney, NSW

9.00am - Welcome

Dr Tayanah O'Donnell, Director of Future Earth Australia

9.10am - Introduction to speakers & overview of climate science & industry intersection

Kate Mackenzie, Climate-KIC Australia

9.20am - Using climate science in industry: reflections from business/governance, and from scientific research

Professor Andy Pitman, Director ARC Centre for Excellence in Climate Extremes

Dr Nick Wood, ESCC Hub stakeholder group chair

9.45am - Panel Discussion - How is climate science being applied in industry?

Corporate stakeholders are expecting companies to assess and disclose their risks from the physical impact of climate change. This is prompting a rapid development in demand for information about climate impacts for business and investment purposes. What is industry seeking, and why? Where are the main gaps, risks and opportunities?

Chair: Dr Tanya Fiedler, University of Sydney Business School

Panellists:

Zoe Whitton, head of ESG Research, Citigroup

Amber Johnston-Billings, Director of climate change and sustainability, KPMG

John Manning, VP and Senior credit officer, Moody's

Karl Braganza, head on climate monitoring, Bureau of Meteorology

10.50am - Break

11.10am Panel Discussion - Science and Governance: standards, funding, fairness?

Climate science research is predominantly publicly-funded; models and other outputs are generally open access. But some intermediation is required to make this research relevant to business. What can we learn from previous examples of public research being intermediated by/for the private sector? How do we avoid an arms race in which large wealthy entities are the owners of information that may be valuable to the broader public? What are the respective roles of government, industry and research?

Chair: Dr Tayanah O'Donnell

Panellists:

Professor Lesley Hughes, Macquarie University and Climate Council

Ryan Crompton, Director of modelling and research, Risk Frontiers

Mark Crosweller, head of National Resilience Taskforce, Department of Home Affairs

Rosemary Bissett, head of sustainability, governance & risk, National Australia Bank