Monash experts and COP26
Monash University experts are available to discuss issues relating to COP26 and climate change.
To find out how Monash is addressing climate change, or for expert commentary on climate issues, visit Monash at COP26, and our climate change edition of Monash Lens.
Transitioning to net zero
Professor John Thwaites, Chair of the Monash Sustainable Development Institute and ClimateWorks Australia
Anna Skarbek, CEO, ClimateWorks Australia
Rob Raven, Deputy Director Research, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, Professor in Sustainability Transitions
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
Building and urban responses
Associate Professor Peter Graham, Director Global Buildings Performance Network (GBPN), Monash Art, Design and Architecture
Contact details: +61 457 779 096 or Peter.Graham@monash.edu
- Building Sector greenhouse gas emission mitigation and climate change mitigation policy strategies
- Decarbonising buildings; sustainable buildings; sustainable architecture
- Architectural science, and ecological design education
- The Monash-GBPN joint report on the health and economic benefits of decarbonised buildings (available here from 31 Oct).
The following comments can be attributed to Associate Professor Graham:
"Developing better, more sustainable buildings will help us live healthier, more comfortable lives while protecting the health of the planet.
"The building sector is a cornerstone of national economies, a major consumer of energy and source of GHG emissions. It must therefore become the foundation for sustainable development.
"Making a commitment to achieving zero-emissions in the building sector is really the first fundamental step in driving demand for sustainable buildings because it demonstrates that governments and companies are no longer asking why we should change, but rather how to achieve our goals.
"The formula for achieving zero-emissions buildings is well known: Reduce embodied emissions and maximise energy efficiency through building design, fuel switch to clean electricity with integrated renewables on-site, and connect to renewable energy grids."
Associate Professor Peter Bragge, BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute
Contact details: +61 403 197 275 or Peter.Bragge@monash.edu
- Methods for rapidly identifying, appraising and summarising research to support policy and practice
- Research and practice reviews for a number of government, industry, commercial and other organisations enterprises to help them address pressing challenges
- The Monash-GBPN joint report on the health and economic benefits of decarbonised buildings (available here from 31 Oct).
The following can be attributed to Associate Professor Bragge:
"Interest in the intersection between climate change, sustainability and health is growing around the world, especially as we consider 'green recovery' following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“This review found a considerable volume of research showing that sustainable building results in a range of human health benefits. These are largely due to better temperature control, better ventilation and better use of natural light. However these benefits are not well known.
“What we now need is for the health, building and policy sectors to collectively promote the health advantages of sustainable building alongside the more well-known environmental benefits."
Associate Professor Megan Farrelly, Associate Professor, Human Geography, Faculty of Arts
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Broader cities / urban responses: how action is being taken despite a lack of national leadership, leading the charge towards delivering net zero
- Monash University’s Net Zero Precincts ARC Linkage project
- Influence of climate change and need for climate change adaptation on delivering resilient and sustainable built environments and infrastructure (water and energy)
- The need to upscale our urban greening (nature-based solutions) for cooling purposes and why this is important in a post-pandemic world for our physical and mental health
Hydrogen, C02 energy alternatives and batteries
Dr Stuart Walsh, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Mapping the economic viability of potential hydrogen projects in Australia
The following comments can be attributed to Dr Walsh:
"Australia has a fantastic opportunity to benefit from the transition to a low-carbon future. However, our ability to capitalise on this opportunity will depend on our ability to coordinate the efforts of industry, investors and policy makers alike.
"The unprecedented scale and complexity of the energy transition calls for careful planning - requiring the creation of economic models and datasets capable of assisting policy makers and industry members to implement new projects and supporting regional infrastructure.
"The success of hydrogen projects will be intimately linked to the availability of local energy resources, access to key infrastructure and water supplies, and the distance to export ports and energy markets.
Associate Professor Akshat Tanksale, Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- How major energy companies are transitioning their C02 emissions into value added products for a circular carbon economy
The following comments can be attributed to Associate Professor Tanksale:
“Carbon dioxide accumulation in the Earth’s atmosphere due to anthropogenic emissions is a major cause of climate change. Carbon capture and storage (CCS) was once considered a possible method for reducing the impact of the emissions, however, it has since proven to be economically unviable in many parts of the world. As it is highly site dependent and there are no economic benefits in the absence of a carbon price.
“A better alternative is carbon capture, utilisation and storage (CCUS), in which C02 is converted into value added chemicals and fuels using renewable energy in addition to excess carbon storage, where applicable.
“The added advantage of this approach is that the chemicals and fuels are easily transportable using existing networks and are a source of income, which offsets the carbon capture costs. “
Research Fellow Dr Mahdokht Shaibani, Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Lower-carbon batteries are essential to charge up our response efforts towards climate change
The following comments can be attributed to Dr Shaibani:
“Rechargeable batteries to store the energy of renewables and electrify our transportation promise to be a critical step in fighting climate change.
“However, not many people are aware of the rising environmental concerns around the production of lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries, a mineral intensive battery technology. Li-ion batteries are made up of lithium, along with emissions-intensive minerals like Nickel, Cobalt, and Graphite.
“These concerns need to be addressed urgently before the net impact of batteries isn’t as positive as the need to combat climate change.
“Now, climate-responsible mining, waste prevention of used batteries, and a move towards greener battery chemistries will help with accelerating the electrification of our world, while ensuring the battery production is managed in a way that minimizes the environmental and climate footprint.”
Professor Ranjith Pathegama Gamage, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Understanding the critical aspects of resource recovery, promoting technological innovation for environmental protection and safe practical recovery of resources from deep earth.
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Gamage:
“While we rapidly transition from one energy source (coal) to a better option (gas), we also need to be developing cleaner, sustainable, renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. But it’s not an ‘either/or’ proposition as is often debated in research and media circles - it's possible to do both.
"The way forward is with geothermal energy. From pursuing coal seam gas we're able to understand and improve on a form of renewable energy also found deep underground – geothermal energy. A “renewable deep-earth energy battery” that much cleaner than any other form of renewable energy.
"If we can overcome the practical challenges, we can transform the coal seam gas industry into an environmentally sustainable energy source, which is worth considering as part of our transition from coal.
"Australia needs to find ways to turn waste into products. My recommendations for Australia to reduce the resource industry’s carbon footprint are to develop rock-breaking technologies that use less energy, create a circular economy that turns resource industry waste into wealth and develop renewable energy sources, such as what I earlier called “renewable deep-earth energy batteries” (geothermal)."
Transport and net zero
Professor Graham Currie, Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- How can Australia achieve it’s Net Zero emissions target through transport and electric vehicle uptake?
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Currie:
“Transport represents Australia's single biggest area of greenhouse emission growth. Leaders will need to unite, offer guidance and set global standards so that countries like Australia that are lagging behind can address this issue.
“Electric car uptake is critical to Australia achieving a 2050 Net Zero target. Yet Australia has amongst the world worst uptake of electric vehicles; 0.78% of new car sales are electric compared to a 4.2% global average and 2.3% in the United States, 10.7% in the United Kingdom and 74.8% in Norway.
“COP26 needs to give Australia a gigantic kick in the pants when it comes to electric vehicle uptake.”
Climate change communication
- Media coverage of CoPs
- How the CoPs work
- Communicating the importance of a 1.5C goal
- Why Net Zero by 2050 sends the wrong message
Food and climate
Liza Barbour, Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Food and the climate - how sustainable is your diet?
- The carbon impact of veganism - is it always best to choose a vegan option?
- Urban food policies for a sustainable future.
- How are governments supporting sustainable food systems around the world?
The following comments can be attributed to Mrs Barbour:“As the race to protect our finite planetary resources continues, individuals are urgently searching for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
“Vegetarianism and veganism has gained popularity amongst those living in high-income countries. However, these eating patterns will not guarantee a reduction in environmental damage. Many alternatives to animal-derived foods are ultra-processed, in particular meat alternatives. Ultra-processed foods are often over-packaged and have undergone a number of resource-intensive processes during their production.
To eat an environmentally sustainable diet, it is recommended to avoid excessive consumption of food beyond your nutritional requirement, eat less discretionary foods, which are often nutrient-poor, energy-dense and highly processed and packaged; and eat more plant-based foods - ensuring that these foods are sourced locally, in season and from a supply chain that favours sustainable production practices.”
Teaching about climate change
Professor Alan Reid, School of Curriculum Teaching & Inclusive Education, Faculty of Education
Contact details: +61 3 9903 4840 or media@monash.edu
- Responding to the gaps in the IPCC reports on the role and status of education in helping address climate challenges
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Reid:
“COP26 should be seen as an opportunity for education to be repositioned as a central strategy to tackling emissions and appropriately integrated into awareness-raising through to action-taking. Prioritising whole-school approaches to climate change education, coupled with organisational learning and lifelong education, will disrupt the kinds of tokenistic commitments many governments have seemed happy to report as their ways of supporting action for climate empowerment at COP meetings.
“COP26 in Glasgow is the time to set ambitious targets for climate change education by mainstreaming education in climate policy and climate action. Evidence-based approaches must underpin decisions about the most effective approaches, not what is politically or financially expedient. As with leadership and collaboration on addressing the pandemic, engaging with state-of-the-art research about education and capacity building is essential to addressing the climate emergency through education.
“Climate change education is about more than teaching the facts about climate change, or even about how people feel in the face of it. It’s about ensuring climate change education addresses people’s rights to be free of oppression created by climate injustices. Good climate change education is good education. Both ensure learners of all generations are able to participate in lives they have good reason to choose, i.e. that foster sustainability, equity and authenticity in their lives and those of others in their community.”
Science, tech, and training the next generation
Professor Bernd Meyer, Department of Data Science and AI, Faculty of IT
For interviews contact Teju Hari Krishna on +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Mapping impact of climate change on species movement
- Impact on insect colonies
- Computational modelling of environmental impacts on species
The following can be attributed to Professor Meyer:
“AI technologies like image and audio recognition along with computational modelling are fast becoming a significant tool in studying the impact of climate change in the natural world.”
“Machine learning and AI have the potential to massively improve species distribution models. In our research we are using AI to enable immediate and cheaper data collection, and create predictive distribution models that account for behavioural responses to environmental change.”
Professor Ariel Liebman, Sustainable Energy Systems, Department of Data Science & AI and Director of Monash Energy Institute
For interviews contact T: +61 450 501 248 or media@monash.edu
- Reliable Affordable Clean Energy (RACE) for Networks program
- Optimising Australia’s energy grids
- Assessing the cost of shifting to renewable energy
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Liebman:
“We have many forms of renewable technologies to address climate change, but integrating all these solutions into existing energy grid infrastructure is challenging. This is where AI and its full range of technologies can help.
“Optimisation, machine learning, data science, time series forecasting, as well as anomaly detection, to name a few, play a crucial role in the design and operation of the future carbon-free electricity grid.”
Professor Roslyn Gleadow, School of Biological Sciences
Contact details: T: +61 409 259 811 or ros.gleadow@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Gleadow’s commentary at Monash Lens
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Gleadow:
“Climate change is here and is already affecting our ability to feed everyone, the nutritional quality of plants and their interactions with animals (including us), human health and biodiversity, bush fire risks.
“COP26 is a rallying point. It is the last chance to reduce the damage to our future food supply, and preserve biodiversity. The risk of not doing so is unthinkable.
“We must do something now. Global heating will not go away unless there are binding commitments to reduce emissions. We must set aside land for conservation. There is already some irreversible change. Plant scientists already have solutions for improving food security and reducing CO2 emissions. Harness their expertise. The Global Plant Council can help make connections in your region.”
Dr Susie Ho, Director of the Master of Environment and Sustainability, Associate Dean International and Graduate Studies, Faculty of Science
Contact details: +61 402 353 470 or Susie.Ho@monash.edu
Read more of Dr Ho’s commentary at Monash Lens
The following comments can be attributed to Dr Ho:
“My sense is that youth have had enough. What we are doing now about climate change just isn’t working – they clearly, and urgently want to find a way to contribute now.
"We need more youth delegations at COPs - and we need to teach students how to participate in these complex and often chaotic events.
"More young people need to be taught to understand and navigate intergovernmental processes at COPs. The whole affair is overwhelming and many youth do not feel equipped to participate."
Professor Antonio Patti, Director Master of Green and Sustainable Technologies, Director, ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre - Green Chemistry in Manufacturing
Contact details: T: +61 3 9905 1620 or tony.patti@monash.edu
Read more of Professor Patti’s commentary at Monash Lens
The following comments can be attributed to Professor Patti:
“All products in our everyday lives come from some aspect of chemical manufacturing sectors - from food, medicines, cleaning agents, plastics, electronic goods, cosmetics etc - things we all take for granted.
“Environmental problems have arisen from manufacturing of these commodities, with energy and resource requirements having a direct impact on Climate Change.
"Green Chemistry thinking is central and necessary for sustainable manufacturing and circular economy implementation for the future. A change in how we manufacture using Green Chemistry principles will be important in addressing Climate Change."
A change in how we manufacture using Green Chemistry principles will be important in addressing Climate Change."