DR DAVID KAROLY

Professor Emeritus, University of Melbourne

David Karoly is a Councillor on the Climate Council of Australia and a Professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne, having retired from CSIRO early in 2022. He is an internationally recognised expert on climate change science and climate variability. David is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and was involved in the Assessment Reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released in 2001, 2007, 2014 and 2021 as a Lead Author first and then as a Review Editor. David is actively involved in communication of climate change science, impacts and solutions to governments at all levels, businesses, community groups and the media.

DR NICK ABEL

Honorary Associate Professor, ANU College of Science

Nick Abel’s research is about social and environmental adaptation, tipping points, collapse and recovery. He has worked for the United Nations, the UK’s University of East Anglia, University of Canberra, the CSIRO and currently at the Australian National University. Dr. Nick has analysed prospects for planned retreat of coastal settlements from rapidly rising seas, adaptation to climate change in the Murray Darling Basin, and the potential for revegetating catchments and relocating houses to mitigate the consequences of increasingly catastrophic river floods. His main focus now, is on how to achieve the rapid social and technological transformations we must bequeath to future generations.

DR LESLEY HUGHES

Professor and Pro-Chancellor, Macquarie University

Lesley Hughes is Professor Emerita in Biology and Pro-Chancellor at Macquarie University. Her principal research interests have been the impacts of climate change on species and ecosystems and the implications for conservation. She is a former Lead Author for the IPCC’s 4th and 5th Assessment Report, a former federal Climate Commissioner, a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a Councillorwith the Biodiversity Council of Australia, a Director of the Environmental Defenders Office, and a Councillor and Director of the Climate Council of Australia. She has recently been appointed as a member of the Climate Change Authority.