Breaking down barriers to climate action together

Paving the way for net-zero carbon emissions and a climate resilient society through collaboration with experts and researchers from a wide range of disciplines by identifying and overcoming barriers encountered in traditional research and practice.

Community climate action

Remote and isolated communities - Climate resilient and sustainable water, energy and waste systems

Researchers are working to implement transformative community-based governance approaches for delivering climate resilient and sustainable water, energy and waste systems in Australian and Pacific rural and remote communities. The project considers delivering - fit for purpose (technically appropriate), fit for place (environmentally appropriate) and fit for people (economically, socially and culturally appropriate) systems.

The project will also develop a spatially explicit WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) Climate Vulnerability Index to support decision making, prioritise actions and build sustained resilience. The index will enable NGO and government partners to prioritise not just emergency WASH in the aftermath of disasters, but also development WASH, where sustainable development objectives and improved WASH coverage can be met and sustained.

Project leads: Assoc Prof Cara Beal, Prof Rodney StewartDr Melissa Jackson and Dr Wade Hadwen

Partners: Torres Strait Island Regional Council, Indigenous Technology,  PowerWater, Centre for Appropriate Technology Limited, Ergon Energy, Water Corporation, Northern Territory Government

Community climate adaptation - Tweed climate ready project

Griffith University is working with the Tweed Shire Council under a grant from the Federal Government to identify local climate action strategies and support for the Tweed Shire community to reduce their carbon footprint and respond to natural hazards and climate events. A final report was prepared in June 2023 and further action is planned.

Project lead: Dr Melissa Jackson

Tweed Shire Council News: Tweed community-led project to provide strategies for climate action - 25 November 2022

Community-led resilience planning - Shoalhaven

Shoalhaven City Council is looking to empower a diverse group of community members from the region to create a Community-led Adaptation and Resilience Strategy for Shoalhaven.

The Council has engaged Griffith University to work with residents on this project, which is an important step in strengthening recovery systems in advance of a disaster.

Project leads at Griffith University: Emeritus Prof Darryl Low Choy and Prof Brendan Mackey 

Partner and project link: Shoalhaven City Council

Project publication: Harnessing the temporal and projective attributes of human agency to promote anticipatory climate change adaptation

Climate Resilient Landscapes and Seascapes

Climate change is having a major impact on global landscapes leading to increased frequency and intensity of mega-fires, reduced rainfall, heat waves and rapidly rising thermal extremes.

There is an urgent need to develop the knowledge, tools, approaches and policies for promoting more climate resilient landscapes, with a focus on Australia and the region’s terrestrial native ecosystems, including wetlands.

Bushfire recovery

The Bushfire Recovery Project analysed satellite data to map the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfire footprint, including the fire intensity to help inform post-fire forest management. Citizen Sciences Apps were also developed to verify the satellite data and engage local communities in monitoring the revival of their local forests and local wildlife. The project produced five Bushfire Science Information Reports and Factsheets, covering the areas of bushfires and - a changing climate, native forest regeneration, logging, ecological consequences, infrastructure.

Project leads: Prof Brendan Mackey and Prof David Lindenmayer AO (The Australian National University)

Partners: The Australian National University and the Great Eastern Ranges Initiative

Griffith News: Post-fire logging removes tree hollows vital for wildlife recovery

Griffith News: The tricks Australian forests use to survive bushfires

Griffith News: Logging and thinning of forests can increase fire risk

Primary Forests and Climate Change

Working with national and global partners to understand the role of tropical and boreal and temperate primary forests on global climate. Researchers are improving the global information base on primary forests, examining the benefits, including economic, that arise from their protection, identifying threats to their ongoing integrity, exploring policy options for their protection and investigating on-ground implementation issues through case studies. The case studies cover primary forests in Europe, Democratic Republic of Congo, British Columbia, Kayapo Territory in Brazil, Nepal, Nepal, Russia and Melanesia.

Project lead: Prof Brendan Mackey

Project partners: Woodwell Research Center, Frankfurt Zoological Society, Australian Rainforests Conservation Society, Wild Heritage, The International Conservation Fund of Canada, Partnership for Policy Integrity, Red Panda Network, Kathmandu Forestry College and the University of Southern Queensland

Resilient Landscapes Hub

The Resilient Landscapes Hub uses research to inform environmental policy and management of Australia’s terrestrial and freshwater habitats to promote resilience, sustainability and productive practices.

Griffith News: Griffith experts take leading role in national environmental research hub

Project leads at Griffith University: Prof Mark Kennard and Prof Brendan Mackey

Partner: The University of Western Australia

Mapping & Inventorying Mature Forest in Conterminous USA

Mature forests provide critical habitat for wildlife, store nationally and globally significant stocks of ecosystem carbon, and provide clean drinking water.  It is important that we know where these forests occur and how they are managed, to help ensure they are protected and continue to provide benefits to society for generations to come. This project, among other things, has provided the first ever coast-to-coast, map-based assessment of mature and old-growth forests in the continental United States.

Project Team:  Dr Dominick DellaSala (Wild Heritage) , Prof Brendan Mackey (Griffith University) , Dr Patrick Norman (Griffith University) , Carly Campbell (Griffith University) , Dr Pat Comer (NatureServe) and Dr Brendan Rogers (Woodwell Climate Research Center)

Project publication: Mature and old-growth forests contribute to large-scale conservation targets in the conterminous United States

Whales in a Changing Climate

Many whale populations are now in the process of recovering following over-exploitation by the whaling industry. Climate change has been identified as one of the next big challenges facing whales. This research project will establish a fundamental understanding of how changing ocean conditions are influencing the recovery of whale populations and develop adaptation scenarios for advancing whale conservation policies and programs. The project will also lead to improved understanding of the role whales might play as carbon sinks and thus climate engineers, and their role as ecosystem engineers contributing to ocean productivity.

Project Co-Directors: Prof Brendan Mackey and Prof Alakendra Roychoudhury (Earth Sciences, Stellenbosch University)

Project Manager: Dr Olaf Meynecke

Partners: Stellenbosch University, University of Cape Town, Universidade Federal Do Rio Grande, Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador and Cape Peninsula University of Technology.

Collaborators: The Oceania Project, Living Ocean, Humpbacks and Highrises, Two Bays Whale Project, Laboratorios Naturales De Magallanes Y Antartica Chilena, Pacific Whale Foundation, Dolphin Research Institute, Centre for Whale Research Western Australia, Mammal Research Institute Whale Unit.

Griffith News: What is drawing humpback whale super-groups to the African coast?

Health

Understanding and adapting to the complex factors that exacerbate the health risks of climate change through interdisciplinary collaboration.

Extreme-heat household early warning and response systems for older Queenslanders

Older people are vulnerable to extreme heat based on their physiological, psychological and socio-economic characteristics. Researchers are developing an integrated, home-based, early warning system to facilitate early warning and appropriate response to extreme heat events in Queensland for older people. In December 2021, the project was awarded $2.35 million by the Wellcome charitable foundation to help limit the thousands of lives lost each year to heat stress.

Project lead: Assoc Prof Shannon Rutherford

Griffith News: Early heat warning system to help save lives in changing climate (9 Dec 2021)

Facilitating Health System Transition - Climate Resilient and Sustainable Health Care

Health systems are experiencing significant demand due to climate change impacts, particularly heat and other extreme weather events. They also face increasing risk of having their services disrupted, just when most needed.

Researchers are working with Queensland healthcare providers to prepare for demands on their services through climate change, while also transitioning toward a sustainable and low carbon future.

Case Study: Facilitating Environmentally Sustainable and Climate Resilient
Healthcare - a collaborative project (Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service| Griffith University | GGHH)

Report: Climate and Health Alliance (CAHA), Global Health and Health Alliance - May 2022 IPCC Briefing - Climate Action for a Healthy Future

Report: CAHA - March 2022 IPCC Briefing - Climate Change is a Health Crisis

Project lead: Sue Cooke

Partners: Gold Coast University HospitalSunshine Coast University Hospital, Global Green and Healthy Hospitals Pacific Network, and the Climate and Health Alliance

Financial mechanisms

Applying expertise in climate and finance to prepare for a financially robust future.

Innovative Financing Solutions

Researchers are investigating innovative financing solutions to assist local governments develop and construct climate adaptation projects for their communities.

Project leads: Ian Edwards, Dr Andrew Buckwell and Prof Chris Fleming

Managing climate change risks for residents in ‘at-risk’ homes and incentivising green zone housing

Develop finance models to manage housing located in ‘at-risk’ red zone areas, which are more susceptible to climate change risks. The model aims to deliver a practical exit strategy for owners of at-risk homes and links their outcomes with the development of new green zone housing.

Project lead: Prof Robert Bianchi

Regulatory frameworks & government

Climate Ready Australia 2030

This is the Climate Ready Initiative’s flagship project. Climate Ready Australia 2030 will bring together partners from across society to develop the shared agenda, investment plan and national capability needed to drive climate action in Australia.

Read more

Qld Government Climate Ready Program

This program is strengthening institutional climate risk management within the Qld Government by supporting the implementation of the adaptation action plan - Managing Climate Risk: Actions for Queensland Government. The plan aims for a whole-of-government climate risk management approach to policies and processes, investments, services and actions.

Qld Transport and Main Roads Agency-wide climate change risk assessment and management project

Worked as a critical friend with the Qld Transport and Main Roads Agency (TMR) to provide expert advice to assist TMR to improve its assessment and management of climate change risk through all stages of projects from scoping and procurement to delivery.

See the Climate Ready Initiative page

Policy guidance briefs on barriers to climate change adaptation in regional Victoria

Collaboration with Victorian Government to provide guidance and recommendations on adaptation policy and implementation for regional communities and local governments in Victoria.  Covers a range of factors including adaptive capacity and socio-cultural and other barriers to action in communities and regions faced with significance transitions due to climate change impacts.

See the Climate Ready Initiative page

Climate risk management for Qld local government

This project includes the development of a high-level evaluative framework that Building Queensland can use to integrate climate risk into their current infrastructure evaluation and business case development processes.

See the Climate Ready Initiative page

Evaluation of climate change impacts in Qld Government infrastructure proposals

This project includes the development of a high-level evaluative framework that Building Queensland can use to integrate climate risk into their current infrastructure evaluation and business case development processes.

See the Climate Ready Initiative page

More projects with partners in practice

The Climate Ready Initiative

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