What’s with all these floods? See presentations from renowned experts on how climate change is causing more frequent and intense flooding. Followed up by farmers sharing the impacts on them, their farm, businesses, families, and communities.

IPCC Lead Authors Professor Brendan Mackey and Kevin Hennessy will walk through the science behind the weather events and explain how climate change is making flooding worse in rural and regional Australia. Farmers Chloe Fox and Oscar Pearse will also tell their stories. There will be time for questions after the presentation.

Watch the recording

Speakers

Professor Brendan Mackey

Prof Brendan Mackey is Director of the Climate Action Beacon, Griffith University, Queensland. He has a PhD from The Australian National University and was a Coordinating Lead Author for the 2022 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report from Working Group II – Impacts, Vulnerability and Adaptation. Prof Mackey has authored over 300 academic publications in the fields of environmental science and policy including on climate change.

Chloe Fox – Somerset Farm

Chloe farms at Somerset Farm on leased land within a vineyard property in Seymour.  The farm is situated on a bend on the river banks of the Goulburn River and is home to diverse native animals and insects.  She and the team grow 3.6 acres of organic (not certified) vegetables with a focus on heirloom and heritage varieties.

On the 13th of October the Goulburn broke its banks and in a matter of hours inundated the farm.   The path of the river rushed through the farm and vineyard destroying crops and infrastructure.  The farm remained under 1.7m of water for five days.

As they rebuild and regrow Chloe and the team are ever more conscious of the responsibility and opportunities for farmers to contribute to positive climate action.

Kevin Hennessy

Kevin has been involved in climate change research for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region for 35 years. Over the past 5 years, he has been Director of Climate Comms, working as a knowledge-broker to help clients find and use climate information. From 1987 to 2017, he undertook climate change research and outreach for CSIRO where he assessed past and projected changes in average climate and extreme events. These projections have been used in collaborative impact assessments to underpin climate adaptation and emission reductions.

Kevin has been involved in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change since 1996. His roles in the last five reports have included Expert Reviewer, Contributing Author, Lead Author and Coordinating Lead Author. He was a Lead Author of the Australasia chapter in the IPCC’s sixth assessment report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, released on 1 March 2022.

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