Hot topics                    

Tue 10 April 2007 (Updated Thu 12 April 07)

MEDIA BRIEFING: Climate Change, What to Expect for Australia

National Briefing on the IPCC Working Group 2 Report -
Sydney (Tue 10 April)

The latest report from the IPCC*, the global body assessing the literature on climate change, will address observed impacts of climate change and look ahead to the potential future impacts on water resources, coasts, ecosystems, industry, society and health. Come and hear Australian lead authors of the report discuss what it might all mean for Australia at a special briefing for journalists on Tuesday 10 April.

The report is called “Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,” and is the second volume of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report on global warming involving 2,500 of the world’s most respected scientists. This latest report has involved more than 25 from Australia.

Click here for more background information and links on the latest report.

The report was released on Friday 6 April at 6.00 pm EST and following the Easter long weekend several Australian Lead Authors were available to comment on regional aspects of the Report and give interviews.

BRIEFING DETAILS:

Date: Tuesday 10 April 2007 at 10.30am
Venue: Sydney CBD.

Speakers were:

	Dr Roger Jones, (Bio note) Principal Research Scientist, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research. Coordinating Lead Author for the chapter on New Assessment Methodologies and the Characterisation of Future Conditions (Ch 2). Roger's PowerPoint (1.35Mb PDF). Listen to Roger's presentation (2.3Mb MP3).
	Professor Nick Harvey, (Bio note) School of Social Sciences, University of Adelaide, Lead Author for the chapter on Australia and New Zealand (Ch 11). Nick's PowerPoint (1.91Mb PDF). Listen to Nick's presentation (2.07Mb MP3)
	Professor Tony McMichael, (Bio note) National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, Australian National University. Reviewing Editor for the chapter on human health, (Ch 8). Tony's PowerPoint (784Kb PDF). Listen to Tony's presentation (4.21Mb MP3).
	Professor Lesley Hughes, (Bio note) Department of Biological Sciences at Macquarie University. Lead Author for the chapter on Australia and New Zealand (Ch 11). Lesley's PowerPoint (413Kb PDF). Listen to Lesley's presentation (2.94Mb MP3).
	Listen to the discussion. (7.4Mb MP3) (approx 30 mins)

Other Authors/Editors who attended were:

• Dr Mike Coughlan, (Bio note) Head of the Bureau of Meteorology’s National Climate Centre and Review Editor for the chapter on Australia and New Zealand (Ch 11).
• Professor Colin Woodroffe, (Bio note) Professorial Fellow at the School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Wollongong, Lead Author for the chapter on coastal areas and low-lying areas (Ch 6).
• Dr Donna Green, (Bio note) Climate Change Research Centre, Faculty of Science, University of New South Wales. She is a Contributing Author for the chapter on Australia and New Zealand (Ch 11).
  

Please note: A Rapid Roundup of comments/quotes from climate experts is now also available online. Feel free to use these quotes in your stories.

For further information, phone the AusSMC on 08 8207 7415 or email us.

*The IPCC, or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, was established by two United Nations Organizations – the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). IPCC reports provide a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the current state of knowledge on climate change and are widely cited in debates related to climate change. The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) is in four volumes from Working Groups I, 2 and 3 and is the culmination of six years work, following the IPCC’s Third Assessment Report released in 2001. For further information on the IPCC, visit: www.ipcc.ch/ or go to our background page on the IPCC Working Group 2 Report.