The Ghost Of Climate Future
Devastating. And Motivating. This week we visit with the Ghost of Climate Future in the form of Australia's first National Climate Risk Assessment.
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All aboard folks! Team LMSU is embarking on a BoCo odyssey over the the next couple of months, adventuring through each of the six sector decarbonisation plans. AND we’re bringing friends! That’s right, we’re calling in even nerdier reinforcements and experts to join us as we venture on. For our first deep dive, The Planned and the Penurious (Energy and Electricity Sector Plan), we were joined by Energy wizard Dylan McConnell! Our second outing, 2 Planned: 2 Penurious (Built Environment), will feature buildings maven Davina Rooney!
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While it’s no Planned and the Penurious, your intrepid hosts have been following the final laps of the NDC Grand Prix as a flurry of countries have raced (?) to lodge their 2035 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. China’s commitment to cut emissions 7–10% below peak levels by 2035 is dissected: an under promise, over deliver scenario? Almost certainly based on their track record. India is progressing through the pack, Europe stuck in the pit lane with internal negotiations, the US is doing doughnuts in the car park, and what on earth do we make of the corner-cutting of Russia’s retrograde move? And what about the two-thirds of countries still in the garage that haven't even gotten around to submitting a climate pledge yet? Is this Trump Administration dirty pool? Luke thinks maybe, Tennant is sceptical, but it certainly makes for an interesting COP and raises questions about the Paris Agreement’s “ratchet” mechanism and the consequences (or lack thereof) for backsliding or just ghosting the party altogether. We commend you to Climate Resource’s NDC country snapshots as a handy dandy resource!
Our main course
One of your intrepid hosts may have described reading the recently published National Climate Risk Assessment as ‘eating our climate risk vegetables’ given the dense and confronting nature of this 250+ page report. But jokes aside, team LMSU wanted to shine a spotlight and give our listeners a sense of the breadth and depth of this significant piece of work from Australia’s Climate Service: fifty six nationally significant climate risks across eight key functional systems, with seven additional risks highlighted for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Eleven risks receive deeper analysis, assessed across three warming scenarios (1.5°C, 2°C, 3°C) and three time horizons (2025, 2050, 2090). While your intrepid hosts read the whole thing cover to cover, we reckon it’s designed as a more modular report and for those interested, we suggest reading the executive summary and use the table of contents to navigate to areas of interest.
This paper reaffirmed the ‘why’ many of us are working in climate and energy and team LMSU is thinking of all you Summerupperers out there, more power to your arms!
One more things
Tennant’s One More Thing is: a book on climate change and energy transition, “Clearing the Air” by Hannah Ritchie. Simple and snappy answers to the many and diverse questions people have on climate,Tennant declares lucid, reasonable and a goodun!
Frankie’s One More Thing is: a plug for the upcoming Investor Group on Climate Change Summit 2025, coming up in Sydney on October 16-17 and featuring eminences such as Al Gore and not one, not two, but ALL THREE hosts of LMSU!
Luke’s One More Thing is: some listener mail from friend of the pod Purdie Bowden who had some thoughts on comments made by Alison Reeve on a previous episode about expertise not being valued in the public service. She’s advocating for an overhaul of APS recruitment practices and progression to value specialist skill sets, support public servants to upskill, allow cross pollination between public and private sectors and lots more very sensible excellent suggestions. Hear, hear!
And that’s it for now, Summerupperers. There is now a one-stop-shop for all your LMSU needs: head to
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