Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
25-26 Jun 2024
Ngunnawal Country, Canberra & Online
Public Sector
Climate-Related Risk & Disclosure
Embedding climate risk into operations, policy and decision making across government
Getting climate risk ready
As governments recognise the escalating impact of climate change on their finances, infrastructure, service delivery and policies, it is more crucial than ever for them to effectively assess and manage climate-related risks.
Governments have a fundamental responsibility to consider current and future climate risks, and opportunities, in decision making. With mandatory climate disclosure requirements in development at a Commonwealth level, and proactive action happening across other levels of government, now is the time to take action.
The Public Sector Climate-Related Risk and Disclosure Summit will uniquely bring together the key stakeholders and leaders from across Federal, State and Local Government to share best practices to assess, disclose and manage climate risk. This summit will also explore the key role of leadership, governance, and how to build public sector capability to effectively manage climate risk.
Benefits of attending
Hear about the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure reform & what your obligations are under it
Understand how DCCEEW & state governments are building capability to assess risk & support adaptation
Gain insights from all levels of government and learn how they’re taking action to manage climate risk
Hear from expert speakers across government, academia, legal and more
Connect with like-minded professionals to support you on your climate risk journey
Speakers
Lesley Andrew
Director Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
Department of Finance
Prof. Mark Howden
Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions
& Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Director Climate Adaptation, Land Sector Opportunities
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Vicki Woodburn
Group Executive
Australian Climate Service
Sarah Barker
Co-Chair
World Economic Forum Climate Governance Community of Experts
Emily Briggs
Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability,
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation WA
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Christian Gergis
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel
& Head of Policy, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Michael Bray
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel & Professor of Practice (Integrated Reporting), Deakin University
Special Adviser – Connectivity and Integrated Reporting, IFRS Foundation
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Julia Richmond
Manager Adaptation Policy,
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Tiffany Correggia
Manager, Climate Preparedness
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (NSW DCCEEW)
David Moore
Manager Environment and Sustainability Policy
Sunshine Coast Council
James Duggie (Invited)
Principal Policy Officer Climate Risk and Resilience Branch
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, WA
Cheryl Briars
Project Manager, Climate Action, Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative
Griffith University
Lana Kovac
Director, Director Climate Change Adaptation & Risk
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Rizsa Albarracin
Lead - Climate Risk and Adaptation, Office of Hospital Sustainability,
Queensland Health
Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Lesley Andrew
Director Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
Department of Finance
Prof. Mark Howden
Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions
& Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Director Climate Adaptation, Land Sector Opportunities
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Vicki Woodburn
Group Executive
Australian Climate Service
Sarah Barker
Co-Chair
World Economic Forum Climate Governance Community of Experts
Emily Briggs
Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability,
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation WA
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Christian Gergis
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel
& Head of Policy, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Michael Bray
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel & Professor of Practice (Integrated Reporting), Deakin University
Special Adviser – Connectivity and Integrated Reporting, IFRS Foundation
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Julia Richmond
Manager Adaptation Policy,
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Tiffany Correggia
Manager, Climate Preparedness
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (NSW DCCEEW)
David Moore
Manager Environment and Sustainability Policy
Sunshine Coast Council
James Duggie (Invited)
Principal Policy Officer Climate Risk and Resilience Branch
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, WA
Cheryl Briars
Project Manager, Climate Action, Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative
Griffith University
Lana Kovac
Director, Director Climate Change Adaptation & Risk
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Rizsa Albarracin
Lead - Climate Risk and Adaptation, Office of Hospital Sustainability,
Queensland Health
Why attend
Build public sector capability for climate leadership & governance
Understand & prepare for climate-related disclosure
Improve climate risk identification & assessment capabilities
Embed climate risk management in operations & decision making
Who will attend
Federal, State & Local Government, with roles & responsibilities for:
- Climate Risk & Strategy
- Sustainability & Climate Change
- Climate Preparedness, Resilience, Adaptation
- Climate Reporting & Disclosure
- Enterprise Risk, Finance, Governance
- Policy & Programs
- Net Zero & Transition
Agenda
Times are shown in AEST
9:00 am
Acknowledgement of Country & opening remarks
CHAIR
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Prof Brendan Mackey
Prof Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council and contributes to several major national and international science and policy advisory bodies. Mark has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups. He helped develop the national and international greenhouse gas inventories and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Leadership, governance, capability
9:10 am
Understanding evolving climate risks, impacts & responses
- Overview of what the science and data says about climate change and extreme events
- Understanding climate risk and some implications of complex risks
- How could climate risk impact government organisations and policy?
- Some options for driving effective national action on emission-reduction and adaptation
Prof. Mark Howden
Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions
& Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Prof. Mark Howden
9:50 am
Looking at climate risk through a governance lens
- Reframing climate risks through a governance, finance and liability lens
- What does good governance look like and how can we redefine our enterprise relationship with climate risk?
- The link between climate governance and effective risk and opportunity management
Sarah Barker
Co-Chair
World Economic Forum Climate Governance Community of Experts
Sarah Barker
10:30 am
Interactive Networking
In this interactive session, you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow attendees and speakers in two minute bursts and set up conversations for the rest of the event
10:50 am
Morning Tea
Brigadier Damien McLachlan
CSC & Bar, Director General Land Worthiness
Department of Defence
Brigadier Damien McLachlan
Brigadier McLachlan has had a 30-year career within Defence, primarily in the land engineering. In 2017 he was appointed as the Technical Regulator Authority – Land where he was responsible for the regulation of Land Materiel in Defence. In 2022 Brigadier McLachlan was appointed as the inaugural Director General Landworthiness, where he is responsible for the development and assurance of internal to Defence regulations within the land domain. He has twice been awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for his work in engineering and land regulation. Brigadier McLachlan holds degrees in Science and Engineering and a Masters in Systems Engineering, he is currently studying a Masters in Law.
11:20 am
Driving leadership & action on climate change risk
- What is the role of public sector leaders in taking action on climate risks?
- How can we drive cultural change within organisations to effectively prioritise climate risk?
- What does good governance of climate risk look like? Is there a role for a chief sustainability officer within government department?
Emily Briggs
Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability,
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation WA
Emily Briggs
Emily Briggs started as the inaugural Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability in April 2023.
Emily has extensive international experience in climate and environment working across Government, the private sector and NGOs. She started her career at BP Australia. She has since held senior roles across the UK Government including energy, climate and green finance policy. Emily led the UK Government’s Brexit strategy on carbon pricing and played a key role in the UK Covid Green Economic Recovery program.
On return to her home in Western Australia, she joined Pollination, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm. Emily led engagement with C-suite clients providing strategy, investment and business transformation advice on all aspects of the net zero, nature positive transition.
Emily has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and Commerce and a Master of Science in Environmental Technology (Environmental Economics and Policy).
Lana Kovac
Director, Director Climate Change Adaptation & Risk
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Lana Kovac
Lana Kovac is Director, Climate Resilience & VPS Action in the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). Lana has extensive experience in climate and environment policy, regulation, and governance across the Victorian Public Service. Lana currently leads a branch responsible for policy advice to build Victoria’s resilience to climate change and lead climate action through Victorian Government operations
Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Cathryn Geiger
Cathryn Geiger is the Head of Division (acting) for Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk. Cath’s division is responsible for the first National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan – working closely with state, territory and local governments, business and communities. The division is also responsible for broader governance of climate change policy. Cath is an experienced federal public servant who has lead reforms across many portfolios including agriculture, infrastructure and economic development.
Climate reporting & disclosure
12:00 pm
Australia’s journey to mandatory climate reporting – comparison with other jurisdictions
- Treasury’s proposed reporting framework
- AASB adoption of ISSB standards – overview and international alignment
- Next steps – how will reporting trigger a shift in practice
Michael Bray
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel & Professor of Practice (Integrated Reporting), Deakin University
Special Adviser – Connectivity and Integrated Reporting, IFRS Foundation
Michael Bray
Christian Gergis
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel
& Head of Policy, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Christian Gergis
12:40 pm
Lunch
1:40 pm
Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
- Overview of the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure reform
- Obligations for Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies under in the reform, with a focus on the pilot
- Complementary policies and next steps
Lesley Andrew
Director Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
Department of Finance
Lesley Andrew
2:20 pm
Building capability to assess, disclose & manage climate risk
- Understanding climate-related disclosures across government
- How do we make risk assessment and disclosure meaningful and outcomes driven?
- What frameworks and tools do you have in place?
- What have been the challenges, learnings or successes to date?
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Cate Hart
Cate Hart is currently the Executive Director for the Environment, Heritage and Sustainability Division within the Department for Environment and Water. This division is responsible for policy and strategy development and administration of legislation, and manages state portfolios which include climate change, flood and coastal management, native vegetation and natural resource management, pastoral lands and built heritage management. The division facilitates and provides governance support for a range of Boards and Councils including SA Premiers Climate Change Council, Coast Protection Board, Native Vegetation Council, Landscape Boards, Pastoral Board and the Heritage Council.
Cate has had a significant career in local government together with the private sector, most recently holding the position of CEO of the City of Prospect since March 2016. Prior to this, she undertook a CEO role with Wakefield Regional Council where she was very involved in Natural Resource Management and Economic Development; and she has held General Manager roles with the South Australian Local Government Association and City of Playford.
Cate is passionate about the future of South Australia and has been very involved in supporting the development of staff across local government through the Local Government Professionals Australia (SA Division), and sat on the LG Professionals Board prior to her appointment to the Department for Environment and Water. Cate is also National Vice President of the Planning Institute of Australia National Board, and the South Australian representative on the SA Division.
Cate brings strong statewide partnerships in both the private sector and local government. She has significant experience in governance, strategy and policy, financial management, development services within urban and regional settings, environmental assessment, and community engagement and advocacy.
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Perry Wiles
Perry has a degree in theoretical physics and trained as a forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, where he worked for 18 years, mostly as a climatologist. Since 2020 he has worked in the Climate Change and Energy Division of the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, where he is now the Director of the Adaptation and Resilience Policy team, which seeks to contribute to Canberra being a climate-ready city and strengthen Canberran’s resilience to climate change.
James Duggie (Invited)
Principal Policy Officer Climate Risk and Resilience Branch
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, WA
James Duggie (Invited)
Julia Richmond
Manager Adaptation Policy,
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Julia Richmond
Julie is a climate change and sustainability professional with extensive experience in the public sector. Her experience, including as an executive, extends across organisational strategy, public policy and programs.
Julie commenced her career by completing a PhD in earth sciences, and after a short stint in the mining and exploration industry, joined the public sector to focus on the management effectiveness of conversation action, and subsequently on corporate strategy development and assessing organisational and program performance and evaluation, in the sustainability and environment protection areas.
Julie has a particular interest in helping solve complex issues leading her to work in climate change policy within the Victorian Government. She has contributed to the development and implementation of emissions reduction, climate change risk and adaptation policy, and the design and delivery of programs to support communities act on climate change. Julie led a policy branch to deliver climate change science and impacts evidence, the first set of legislated statewide adaptation action plans and complementary regional adaptation strategies, and a climate change risk management program for the Victorian public service.
3:10 pm
Afternoon tea
3:30 pm
Leading action & investment in SA to manage climate risks
- Exploring an innovative cross-government approach to fund and invest in climate change initiatives
- Using a cross government group to rank and describe multiple budget bids to create the business case for funding
- Gaining insights through SA Auditor General recommendations regarding our climate risk profile to inform policy and practice
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Cate Hart
Cate Hart is currently the Executive Director for the Environment, Heritage and Sustainability Division within the Department for Environment and Water. This division is responsible for policy and strategy development and administration of legislation, and manages state portfolios which include climate change, flood and coastal management, native vegetation and natural resource management, pastoral lands and built heritage management. The division facilitates and provides governance support for a range of Boards and Councils including SA Premiers Climate Change Council, Coast Protection Board, Native Vegetation Council, Landscape Boards, Pastoral Board and the Heritage Council.
Cate has had a significant career in local government together with the private sector, most recently holding the position of CEO of the City of Prospect since March 2016. Prior to this, she undertook a CEO role with Wakefield Regional Council where she was very involved in Natural Resource Management and Economic Development; and she has held General Manager roles with the South Australian Local Government Association and City of Playford.
Cate is passionate about the future of South Australia and has been very involved in supporting the development of staff across local government through the Local Government Professionals Australia (SA Division), and sat on the LG Professionals Board prior to her appointment to the Department for Environment and Water. Cate is also National Vice President of the Planning Institute of Australia National Board, and the South Australian representative on the SA Division.
Cate brings strong statewide partnerships in both the private sector and local government. She has significant experience in governance, strategy and policy, financial management, development services within urban and regional settings, environmental assessment, and community engagement and advocacy.
4:10 pm
Managing climate risk in local government
- Overview of the Regional Climate Action Roadmap
- Responding to climate-related risks, challenges and opportunities within a local government context
David Moore
Manager Environment and Sustainability Policy
Sunshine Coast Council
David Moore
4:50 pm
Closing remarks
9:00 am
Acknowledgement of Country & opening remarks
CHAIR
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Prof Brendan Mackey
Prof Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council and contributes to several major national and international science and policy advisory bodies. Mark has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups. He helped develop the national and international greenhouse gas inventories and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Identifying & assessing risk
9:10 am
Developing Australia’s first national climate risk assessment framework
- Overview of the Australian Government’s work on climate risk assessment and disclosure
- How we are building capacity across government to assess risk and drive adaptation
Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Cathryn Geiger
Cathryn Geiger is the Head of Division (acting) for Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk. Cath’s division is responsible for the first National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan – working closely with state, territory and local governments, business and communities. The division is also responsible for broader governance of climate change policy. Cath is an experienced federal public servant who has lead reforms across many portfolios including agriculture, infrastructure and economic development.
9:50 am
Co-designing a climate risk assessment framework with Queensland Government
- Building government capability through the Queensland Climate Ready Program
- Developing a fit for purpose framework for doing climate risk management
- Insights and learnings from framework development and implementation
Cheryl Briars
Project Manager, Climate Action, Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative
Griffith University
Cheryl Briars
10:30 am
Morning Tea
10:30 am
Climate Risk Management in NSW Government
- Overview of NSW four pillar approach to managing climate risk to assets and operations
- Bringing it together; executive leadership, governance, integration of climate change into decision making, effective information, tools and training
- How this strategy guides NSW whole of government response to climate change risk and governance (including climate related financial disclosures)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Director Climate Adaptation, Land Sector Opportunities
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Dr Aaron Coutts-Smith is the acting Director of the Climate Adaptation and Land Sector Opportunities branch in the Office of Energy and Climate Change. Aaron brings an Earth systems science background to his almost 15 years delivering Adaptation programs in the public service. His current responsibilities include delivery of key actions under the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy including the NSW Statewide Climate Change Risk and opportunity Assessment and embedding climate change risk management across the NSW public service.
Tiffany Correggia
Manager, Climate Preparedness
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Tiffany Correggia
Tiffany Correggia is the manager of climate preparedness in the CALSO branch of the Office of Energy and Climate Change. She has over 12 years of professional experience in climate adaptation, mitigation and circular economy. She has supported the delivery of the NSW Government’s leading Climate Risk ready program and is passionate about making our communities, systems and governance fit for the future.
11:40 am
Roundtable Discussions – Getting climate risk ready
In this interactive session, you’ll get the chance to connect with like-minded peers at the conference, and to share and discuss
- What stage is your organisation/department at when it comes to assessing and managing climate risk?
- How are you building capability and what steps or strategies do you have in place?
- What are some of the current challenges you’re facing or successes you’ve had so far?
12:10 am
Lunch
Embedding climate risks into decision making
1:10 pm
Improving access to climate data & insights for risk assessment, reporting & decision making
- Building risk and impact information evidence base for decision-making
- Working towards consistent and centralised access to climate information, insights and data
Vicki Woodburn
Group Executive
Australian Climate Service
Vicki Woodburn
1:50 pm
Decision-making & reporting for improved climate resilience
- Setting a “climate baseline” to plan for and manage physical climate risk
- Embedding climate in our decision-making frameworks, not just risk
- Exploring meaningful metrics for disclosure – why water can teach us all
Isabel Copeman
Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Lead
Sydney Water
Isabel Copeman
Isabel is a Resilience & Climate Change Adaptation Lead at Sydney Water. Having spent the last decade in the water industry, she is passionate about collaborative water planning that sustainably improves the lives of communities now and in the future. She has had roles in asset planning, investment assurance and place-based strategic planning; she now oversees the governance of Sydney Water’s climate change adaptation activities.
2:30 pm
Afternoon tea
2:50 pm
Queensland Health’s response to climate change
- Overview of the Queensland Health Climate Risk Strategy 2021-2026 and its strategic priorities.
- The role of the Office of Hospital Sustainability in supporting emissions reduction strategies and reporting.
- Climate risk assessment and climate adaptation planning for the Hospital and Health Services.
3:30 pm
The role of climate projections in climate adaptation and risk management in the ACT
- The necessity of handling projection uncertainty through a risk management framework
- The Climate Change Risk Assessment for the ACT and a whole of Government Adaptation Framework for the ACT
- Going beyond just the projection data – the use of narrative scenarios to inform risk assessment and adaptation action
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Perry Wiles
Perry has a degree in theoretical physics and trained as a forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, where he worked for 18 years, mostly as a climatologist. Since 2020 he has worked in the Climate Change and Energy Division of the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, where he is now the Director of the Adaptation and Resilience Policy team, which seeks to contribute to Canberra being a climate-ready city and strengthen Canberran’s resilience to climate change.
4:10 pm
Investing in an uncertain future
- Mind the gap – Why is there an adaptation investment shortfall?
- What is the role of government in investing in adaptation?
- Building (resilient) bridges – what is available to help organisations calculating the benefits of resilience to support investment, and how have they been used in practice?
- What’s next? – Systemic approaches to investing in resilience
Katie Vines
Director - Adaptation and Resilience
Climate-KIC Australia
Katie Vines
Katie Vines is an adaptation and resilience expert with experience in systems thinking, systemic risk and resilience assessment and scenario-based assessment and planning.
She has experience supporting organisations to take systems approaches to understanding and responding to climate risks. She has worked with mega-cities around the world to support climate change risk and resilience assessment and response. Katie led projects translating climate science and technical analysis of risk for end users, including developing scenarios and guidance documents and implementing scenario-based assessment and planning processes.
Katie has previously worked for Federal and NSW State governments in senior policy and program roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation. She worked for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Alliance leading efforts to measure and respond to climate risks at a city and district scale.
4:50 pm
Closing Remarks from the Chair & Close of Conference
9:00 am
Acknowledgement of Country & opening remarks
CHAIR
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Prof Brendan Mackey
Prof Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council and contributes to several major national and international science and policy advisory bodies. Mark has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups. He helped develop the national and international greenhouse gas inventories and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
9:00 am
Leadership, governance, capability
9:10 am
Understanding evolving climate risks, impacts & responses
- Overview of what the science and data says about climate change and extreme events
- Understanding climate risk and some implications of complex risks
- How could climate risk impact government organisations and policy?
- Some options for driving effective national action on emission-reduction and adaptation
Prof. Mark Howden
Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions
& Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Prof. Mark Howden
9:50 am
Looking at climate risk through a governance lens
- Reframing climate risks through a governance, finance and liability lens
- What does good governance look like and how can we redefine our enterprise relationship with climate risk?
- The link between climate governance and effective risk and opportunity management
Sarah Barker
Co-Chair
World Economic Forum Climate Governance Community of Experts
Sarah Barker
10:30 am
Interactive Networking
In this interactive session, you will have the opportunity to meet and connect with fellow attendees and speakers in two minute bursts and set up conversations for the rest of the event
10:50 am
Morning Tea
Brigadier Damien McLachlan
CSC & Bar, Director General Land Worthiness
Department of Defence
Brigadier Damien McLachlan
Brigadier McLachlan has had a 30-year career within Defence, primarily in the land engineering. In 2017 he was appointed as the Technical Regulator Authority – Land where he was responsible for the regulation of Land Materiel in Defence. In 2022 Brigadier McLachlan was appointed as the inaugural Director General Landworthiness, where he is responsible for the development and assurance of internal to Defence regulations within the land domain. He has twice been awarded a Conspicuous Service Cross for his work in engineering and land regulation. Brigadier McLachlan holds degrees in Science and Engineering and a Masters in Systems Engineering, he is currently studying a Masters in Law.
11:20 am
Driving leadership & action on climate change risk
- What is the role of public sector leaders in taking action on climate risks?
- How can we drive cultural change within organisations to effectively prioritise climate risk?
- What does good governance of climate risk look like? Is there a role for a chief sustainability officer within government department?
Emily Briggs
Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability,
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation WA
Emily Briggs
Emily Briggs started as the inaugural Deputy Director General Climate and Sustainability in April 2023.
Emily has extensive international experience in climate and environment working across Government, the private sector and NGOs. She started her career at BP Australia. She has since held senior roles across the UK Government including energy, climate and green finance policy. Emily led the UK Government’s Brexit strategy on carbon pricing and played a key role in the UK Covid Green Economic Recovery program.
On return to her home in Western Australia, she joined Pollination, a specialist climate change investment and advisory firm. Emily led engagement with C-suite clients providing strategy, investment and business transformation advice on all aspects of the net zero, nature positive transition.
Emily has a Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) and Commerce and a Master of Science in Environmental Technology (Environmental Economics and Policy).
Lana Kovac
Director, Director Climate Change Adaptation & Risk
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Lana Kovac
Lana Kovac is Director, Climate Resilience & VPS Action in the Victorian Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA). Lana has extensive experience in climate and environment policy, regulation, and governance across the Victorian Public Service. Lana currently leads a branch responsible for policy advice to build Victoria’s resilience to climate change and lead climate action through Victorian Government operations
Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Cathryn Geiger
Cathryn Geiger is the Head of Division (acting) for Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk. Cath’s division is responsible for the first National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan – working closely with state, territory and local governments, business and communities. The division is also responsible for broader governance of climate change policy. Cath is an experienced federal public servant who has lead reforms across many portfolios including agriculture, infrastructure and economic development.
11:20 am
Climate reporting & disclosure
12:00 pm
Australia’s journey to mandatory climate reporting – comparison with other jurisdictions
- Treasury’s proposed reporting framework
- AASB adoption of ISSB standards – overview and international alignment
- Next steps – how will reporting trigger a shift in practice
Michael Bray
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel & Professor of Practice (Integrated Reporting), Deakin University
Special Adviser – Connectivity and Integrated Reporting, IFRS Foundation
Michael Bray
Christian Gergis
Member, Sustainability Reporting Project Advisory Panel
& Head of Policy, Australian Institute of Company Directors
Christian Gergis
12:40 pm
Lunch
1:40 pm
Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
- Overview of the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure reform
- Obligations for Commonwealth entities and Commonwealth companies under in the reform, with a focus on the pilot
- Complementary policies and next steps
Lesley Andrew
Director Commonwealth Climate Disclosure
Department of Finance
Lesley Andrew
2:20 pm
Building capability to assess, disclose & manage climate risk
- Understanding climate-related disclosures across government
- How do we make risk assessment and disclosure meaningful and outcomes driven?
- What frameworks and tools do you have in place?
- What have been the challenges, learnings or successes to date?
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Cate Hart
Cate Hart is currently the Executive Director for the Environment, Heritage and Sustainability Division within the Department for Environment and Water. This division is responsible for policy and strategy development and administration of legislation, and manages state portfolios which include climate change, flood and coastal management, native vegetation and natural resource management, pastoral lands and built heritage management. The division facilitates and provides governance support for a range of Boards and Councils including SA Premiers Climate Change Council, Coast Protection Board, Native Vegetation Council, Landscape Boards, Pastoral Board and the Heritage Council.
Cate has had a significant career in local government together with the private sector, most recently holding the position of CEO of the City of Prospect since March 2016. Prior to this, she undertook a CEO role with Wakefield Regional Council where she was very involved in Natural Resource Management and Economic Development; and she has held General Manager roles with the South Australian Local Government Association and City of Playford.
Cate is passionate about the future of South Australia and has been very involved in supporting the development of staff across local government through the Local Government Professionals Australia (SA Division), and sat on the LG Professionals Board prior to her appointment to the Department for Environment and Water. Cate is also National Vice President of the Planning Institute of Australia National Board, and the South Australian representative on the SA Division.
Cate brings strong statewide partnerships in both the private sector and local government. She has significant experience in governance, strategy and policy, financial management, development services within urban and regional settings, environmental assessment, and community engagement and advocacy.
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Perry Wiles
Perry has a degree in theoretical physics and trained as a forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, where he worked for 18 years, mostly as a climatologist. Since 2020 he has worked in the Climate Change and Energy Division of the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, where he is now the Director of the Adaptation and Resilience Policy team, which seeks to contribute to Canberra being a climate-ready city and strengthen Canberran’s resilience to climate change.
James Duggie (Invited)
Principal Policy Officer Climate Risk and Resilience Branch
Department of Water and Environmental Regulation, WA
James Duggie (Invited)
Julia Richmond
Manager Adaptation Policy,
Department of Energy, Environment & Climate Action VIC
Julia Richmond
Julie is a climate change and sustainability professional with extensive experience in the public sector. Her experience, including as an executive, extends across organisational strategy, public policy and programs.
Julie commenced her career by completing a PhD in earth sciences, and after a short stint in the mining and exploration industry, joined the public sector to focus on the management effectiveness of conversation action, and subsequently on corporate strategy development and assessing organisational and program performance and evaluation, in the sustainability and environment protection areas.
Julie has a particular interest in helping solve complex issues leading her to work in climate change policy within the Victorian Government. She has contributed to the development and implementation of emissions reduction, climate change risk and adaptation policy, and the design and delivery of programs to support communities act on climate change. Julie led a policy branch to deliver climate change science and impacts evidence, the first set of legislated statewide adaptation action plans and complementary regional adaptation strategies, and a climate change risk management program for the Victorian public service.
3:10 pm
Afternoon tea
3:30 pm
Leading action & investment in SA to manage climate risks
- Exploring an innovative cross-government approach to fund and invest in climate change initiatives
- Using a cross government group to rank and describe multiple budget bids to create the business case for funding
- Gaining insights through SA Auditor General recommendations regarding our climate risk profile to inform policy and practice
Cate Hart
Executive Director, Environment, Heritage and Sustainability
Department for Environment and Water (SA)
Cate Hart
Cate Hart is currently the Executive Director for the Environment, Heritage and Sustainability Division within the Department for Environment and Water. This division is responsible for policy and strategy development and administration of legislation, and manages state portfolios which include climate change, flood and coastal management, native vegetation and natural resource management, pastoral lands and built heritage management. The division facilitates and provides governance support for a range of Boards and Councils including SA Premiers Climate Change Council, Coast Protection Board, Native Vegetation Council, Landscape Boards, Pastoral Board and the Heritage Council.
Cate has had a significant career in local government together with the private sector, most recently holding the position of CEO of the City of Prospect since March 2016. Prior to this, she undertook a CEO role with Wakefield Regional Council where she was very involved in Natural Resource Management and Economic Development; and she has held General Manager roles with the South Australian Local Government Association and City of Playford.
Cate is passionate about the future of South Australia and has been very involved in supporting the development of staff across local government through the Local Government Professionals Australia (SA Division), and sat on the LG Professionals Board prior to her appointment to the Department for Environment and Water. Cate is also National Vice President of the Planning Institute of Australia National Board, and the South Australian representative on the SA Division.
Cate brings strong statewide partnerships in both the private sector and local government. She has significant experience in governance, strategy and policy, financial management, development services within urban and regional settings, environmental assessment, and community engagement and advocacy.
4:10 pm
Managing climate risk in local government
- Overview of the Regional Climate Action Roadmap
- Responding to climate-related risks, challenges and opportunities within a local government context
David Moore
Manager Environment and Sustainability Policy
Sunshine Coast Council
David Moore
4:50 pm
Closing remarks
9:00 am
Acknowledgement of Country & opening remarks
CHAIR
Prof Brendan Mackey
Director
Climate Action Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative Griffith University
Prof Brendan Mackey
Prof Mark Howden is Director of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council and contributes to several major national and international science and policy advisory bodies. Mark has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups. He helped develop the national and international greenhouse gas inventories and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
9:00 am
Identifying & assessing risk
9:10 am
Developing Australia’s first national climate risk assessment framework
- Overview of the Australian Government’s work on climate risk assessment and disclosure
- How we are building capacity across government to assess risk and drive adaptation
Cathryn Geiger
Head of Division (a/g), Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk Division
Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (DCCEEW)
Cathryn Geiger
Cathryn Geiger is the Head of Division (acting) for Climate Change Policy, Adaptation and Risk. Cath’s division is responsible for the first National Climate Risk Assessment and the National Adaptation Plan – working closely with state, territory and local governments, business and communities. The division is also responsible for broader governance of climate change policy. Cath is an experienced federal public servant who has lead reforms across many portfolios including agriculture, infrastructure and economic development.
9:50 am
Co-designing a climate risk assessment framework with Queensland Government
- Building government capability through the Queensland Climate Ready Program
- Developing a fit for purpose framework for doing climate risk management
- Insights and learnings from framework development and implementation
Cheryl Briars
Project Manager, Climate Action, Beacon & Climate Ready Initiative
Griffith University
Cheryl Briars
10:30 am
Morning Tea
10:30 am
Climate Risk Management in NSW Government
- Overview of NSW four pillar approach to managing climate risk to assets and operations
- Bringing it together; executive leadership, governance, integration of climate change into decision making, effective information, tools and training
- How this strategy guides NSW whole of government response to climate change risk and governance (including climate related financial disclosures)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Director Climate Adaptation, Land Sector Opportunities
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Aaron Coutts-Smith
Dr Aaron Coutts-Smith is the acting Director of the Climate Adaptation and Land Sector Opportunities branch in the Office of Energy and Climate Change. Aaron brings an Earth systems science background to his almost 15 years delivering Adaptation programs in the public service. His current responsibilities include delivery of key actions under the NSW Climate Change Adaptation Strategy including the NSW Statewide Climate Change Risk and opportunity Assessment and embedding climate change risk management across the NSW public service.
Tiffany Correggia
Manager, Climate Preparedness
NSW Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment & Water (NSW DCCEEW)
Tiffany Correggia
Tiffany Correggia is the manager of climate preparedness in the CALSO branch of the Office of Energy and Climate Change. She has over 12 years of professional experience in climate adaptation, mitigation and circular economy. She has supported the delivery of the NSW Government’s leading Climate Risk ready program and is passionate about making our communities, systems and governance fit for the future.
11:40 am
Roundtable Discussions – Getting climate risk ready
In this interactive session, you’ll get the chance to connect with like-minded peers at the conference, and to share and discuss
- What stage is your organisation/department at when it comes to assessing and managing climate risk?
- How are you building capability and what steps or strategies do you have in place?
- What are some of the current challenges you’re facing or successes you’ve had so far?
12:10 am
Lunch
12:10 am
Embedding climate risks into decision making
1:10 pm
Improving access to climate data & insights for risk assessment, reporting & decision making
- Building risk and impact information evidence base for decision-making
- Working towards consistent and centralised access to climate information, insights and data
Vicki Woodburn
Group Executive
Australian Climate Service
Vicki Woodburn
1:50 pm
Decision-making & reporting for improved climate resilience
- Setting a “climate baseline” to plan for and manage physical climate risk
- Embedding climate in our decision-making frameworks, not just risk
- Exploring meaningful metrics for disclosure – why water can teach us all
Isabel Copeman
Resilience and Climate Change Adaptation Lead
Sydney Water
Isabel Copeman
Isabel is a Resilience & Climate Change Adaptation Lead at Sydney Water. Having spent the last decade in the water industry, she is passionate about collaborative water planning that sustainably improves the lives of communities now and in the future. She has had roles in asset planning, investment assurance and place-based strategic planning; she now oversees the governance of Sydney Water’s climate change adaptation activities.
2:30 pm
Afternoon tea
2:50 pm
Queensland Health’s response to climate change
- Overview of the Queensland Health Climate Risk Strategy 2021-2026 and its strategic priorities.
- The role of the Office of Hospital Sustainability in supporting emissions reduction strategies and reporting.
- Climate risk assessment and climate adaptation planning for the Hospital and Health Services.
3:30 pm
The role of climate projections in climate adaptation and risk management in the ACT
- The necessity of handling projection uncertainty through a risk management framework
- The Climate Change Risk Assessment for the ACT and a whole of Government Adaptation Framework for the ACT
- Going beyond just the projection data – the use of narrative scenarios to inform risk assessment and adaptation action
Perry Wiles
Director
Adaptation and Resilience Policy, ACT Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
Perry Wiles
Perry has a degree in theoretical physics and trained as a forecaster with the Bureau of Meteorology, where he worked for 18 years, mostly as a climatologist. Since 2020 he has worked in the Climate Change and Energy Division of the ACT’s Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate, where he is now the Director of the Adaptation and Resilience Policy team, which seeks to contribute to Canberra being a climate-ready city and strengthen Canberran’s resilience to climate change.
4:10 pm
Investing in an uncertain future
- Mind the gap – Why is there an adaptation investment shortfall?
- What is the role of government in investing in adaptation?
- Building (resilient) bridges – what is available to help organisations calculating the benefits of resilience to support investment, and how have they been used in practice?
- What’s next? – Systemic approaches to investing in resilience
Katie Vines
Director - Adaptation and Resilience
Climate-KIC Australia
Katie Vines
Katie Vines is an adaptation and resilience expert with experience in systems thinking, systemic risk and resilience assessment and scenario-based assessment and planning.
She has experience supporting organisations to take systems approaches to understanding and responding to climate risks. She has worked with mega-cities around the world to support climate change risk and resilience assessment and response. Katie led projects translating climate science and technical analysis of risk for end users, including developing scenarios and guidance documents and implementing scenario-based assessment and planning processes.
Katie has previously worked for Federal and NSW State governments in senior policy and program roles in climate change adaptation and mitigation. She worked for the C40 Cities Climate Leadership Alliance leading efforts to measure and respond to climate risks at a city and district scale.
4:50 pm
Closing Remarks from the Chair & Close of Conference
Workshops
27 June 2024
9:00 am - 11:30 am
Building the capabilities to understand and assess climate risk is critical in supporting public sector professionals to effectively manage these risks. In this workshop, Cheryl Briars and Prof. Brendan Mackey will provide a foundation in the concepts, tools, and strategies to support you to assess climate risk and embed these into your risk management processes. You will also explore how this can be applied in practice through case study examples.
Benefits of attending
- Identify physical & transition climate risks in a public sector context
- Explore different tools & frameworks used to assess climate risk
- Understand how you can embed climate risk into wider risk management practices
Prof Brendan Mackey & Cheryl Briars
Griffith University
Prof Brendan Mackey & Cheryl Briars
Location
25-26 June 2024
09:00 am - 04:50 pm
Venue
Rex Hotel Canberra, Ngunnawal Country
150 Northbourne Ave,
Braddon ACT 2612
Online
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Early bird savings until 14 June
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Standard rate after early bird
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You provide products or services to this delegate audience
Early bird savings until 19 April
$1,999
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $500
Early bird savings until 10 May
$2,199
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $300
Early bird savings until 31 May
$2,399
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $100
Early bird savings until 14 June
$2,499
+GST
Standard rate after early bird
$2,599
+GST
Early bird savings until 19 April
$1,499
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $600
Early bird savings until 10 May
$1,699
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $400
Early bird savings until 31 May
$1,899
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $200
Early bird savings until 14 June
$1,999
+GST
Early bird pricing
Save $100
Standard rate after early bird
$2,099
+GST
Vendor Rate
$3,899
+GST
You provide products or services to this delegate audience
Attend with your colleagues! Save with our group discounts.
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What our delegates say
Very engaging and insightful presentation that forces you to think outside the box.”
Assistant Director
Department of Employment and Workplace Relations
This conference was relevant to the work we are doing in our department, there were plenty of takeaways from the presentations. The workshops were useful and practical.”
Assistant Director Data Governance Section
Department of Health and Aged Care
The presentations were very relevant to our work and industry. The presenters were informative and the chair was also quite engaging. Appreciate how this forum opens up and encourages collaboration, learnings and leveraging work across various organisations, domestic as well as international”
Data Management Officer
Australian Taxation Office
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