A great kick off to Climate Action Week Sydney with the official opening this morning in the UTS Great Hall!
It was an action-packed morning and I’ll be tinkering with the many insights and key messages that were shared over the coming days and weeks. Some immediate things that have resonated…
We need to face the reality of the situation we’re in. We’re not on track to keep warming to less than 1.5°C (in fact 2024 was ~1.55°C). That means we need to act with urgency.
There’s plenty of hope. We’ve already made a lot of progress.
We have the climate solutions we need, but they need to be implemented. We need announced projects to move faster – with demonstration projects to build confidence, case studies, and to be scaled.
Renewable energy made up ~40% of Australia’s energy mix in 2024. We regularly hit 50%+ days, and it hit a peak of 72.2% in September 2024. There’s a lot of disinformation around this using the merchant of doubt playbook.
The biggest challenge is adaptive, not technical. It’s a change journey that requires bringing diverse stakeholders together. Local, national, and the global community.
Opening Session
What actually happened? It was awesome to some friends and collaborators in action doing their thing and to catch up with a bunch of people too… Stephen Summerhayes, Dr Leila Alem, Tim Prosser, Julie Macey.
Jo Taranto did her usual magic as a great host and MC.
Binowee Bayles gave an awesome and very meaningful Welcome to Country – one of my favourites ever. She shared so many quotable (that I won’t quote) pieces of wisdom from her grandmother. You’ll need to get along to a CAWSYD event where she’s doing the Welcome to hear it firsthand.
The scene was set with talks by Ed Schmidt from Climate Action Foundation, Jess Miller from City of Sydney, and Andrew Parfitt from UTS.
Ross Garnaut spoke about Australia’s low-carbon opportunity… we’re well positioned to be an energy superpower. He then joined the Australia’s Moment panel hosted by Blair Palese with Rachel Howard and Danny Kennedy. A panel stacked with people who’ve been tirelessly working on climate action for decades.
A break… and then another awesome panel on the Ecology of Change. Hosted by Harkiran Narulla with Zali Steggall OAM MP, Chris Turney, Holly Creenaune, and Christina Hobbs.
The session closed with Georgia Lourandos having a fireside chat with Jonathan Pershing.
That’s a lot.
6 Overarching Themes
There are six overarching themes for Climate Action Week Sydney 2025.
Protecting & Leveraging Nature
Harnessing natural solutions and biodiversity conservation to combat climate change.
Sustainable & Resilient Cities
Rethinking urban spaces to ensure communities thrive in a changing climate.
Financing a Viable Future
Driving investment in sustainable solutions and a low-carbon economy.
Mobilising All-of-Society Climate Action
Encouraging collaboration across sectors to deliver real change.
Supporting the Industrial Transition
Helping businesses and industries adopt cleaner, more sustainable practices.
Regenerative Futures
Restoring ecosystems for long-term environmental health and sustainability.
Get Involved!
There are 200+ CAWSYD events this week, bringing together the voices of global leaders, innovators, and everyday changemakers for bold ideas, real solutions, and collective action.
Check out the events (a lot are free) and grab your tickets now!
I’m looking forward to my mate Dan Leverington’s session tomorrow on Net Zero Collaborations & Partnerships: But How? with Beth Dowe, Fraser Thompson, and Liz Courtney.
Another mate Paul Brown is leading the workshop on Empowering Schools for a Net-Zero Future with Q&A, and a launch of the innovative Opportunity Cards on Wednesday.
I’ll even do some billable client work this week 😊
Enjoy #CAWSYD2025!
