Looking in the past to learn for the future: climate extremes informing climate change adaptation

Jean Palutikof and Sarah Boulter

Where: Museum of Tropical Queensland, Flinders St, Townsville

When: 23 Feb, 2012 4.30pm - 5.30pm followed by refreshments

Summary

Climate change may mean more extreme events, or more severe events, in the future. Studies of preparedness and responses to past events can usefully inform understanding of how societies and environment will adapt to these future changes, and in turn contribute to improved climate change adaptation planning.

We examined past extreme events (caused by tropical cyclone, flooding, heatwave, drought, east coast low and storm tide) in Australia to determine how communities, emergency managers, policy makers and research sciences responded. We have used this case study approach to consider: first, the attributes that determined the success or failure of the response and recovery phases - the prior conditions, decision-making around the event, subsequent policy changes; and, second, to explore the lessons to be learned about what determines the success or failure of climate change adaptation strategies in the future.

Our results point to several broad lessons. First, actions need to be realistic and pragmatic as well as forward thinking; some responses or adaptations may be appropriate in the short-term, but prove to be maladaptations in the longer term. Second, while building a ‘resilient’ community is an important response, it must be acknowledged that this may mean change. Third, there is extensive knowledge around extreme events and how to manage their impacts, but for a variety of reasons this knowledge doesn’t necessarily translate into action.

This presentation will highlight the strength of the case study approach and its relevance for decision makers from the community to the Federal Government level.

About the speakers

Professor Jean Palutikof is Director of the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility at Griffith University. She took up the role in October 2008, having previously managed the production of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Fourth Assessment Report for Working Group II (Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability), while based at the UK Met Office.

Dr Sarah Boulter is a research fellow with the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility. Sarah has been involved in biodiversity research for the past ten years. She focussed on plant animal interactions in the rainforests of both the Wet Tropics and subtropics near Brisbane. Sarah has also worked in research communication with the then Queensland Department of Natural Resources