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At the recent ���������¼� Institute for Climate Risk & Response Conference, leaders from science, government and industry tackled one of the biggest challenges of climate change — how to make sound decisions under uncertainty.

Held from 22–23 October 2025, the conference brought together more than 270 people from academia, business and policy to collaborate on how to chart the best course through a rapidly shifting global landscape. 

���������¼� Vice-Chancellor Professor Attila Brungs opened the event with a call for urgency and ambition.

“It has become almost a cliché to say that climate change is already here. But there’s danger in that familiarity. The uncertainty ahead is profound, and it demands action, not deferral.”

He praised ICRR’s mission to “bridge the gap between knowledge and action,” highlighting the importance of partnerships that translate science into policy and practice.

“Adaptation that ignores equity risks leaving people behind,” he added.

Policy and persistence

Nick Rowley, Chair of the NSW Net Zero Commission, delivered the keynote address, drawing on decades of experience in climate policy. He reflected on the enduring success of the , which he helped design, noting its institutional continuity as key to its impact.

“We are all engaged in what must be an ongoing learning exercise."

This year’s event builds on the success of ICRR’s inaugural Conference in 2024. Established in 2023, the ICRR has become a hub for connecting science, policy and industry through collaborative projects that support climate action, despite irreducible uncertainty.

Spanning ���������¼�’s Faculties of Science, Business, and Law & Justice, the ICRR researchers work on everything from extreme-weather modelling and behavioural decision-making to climate governance and risk management.

Recent projects include an industry co-funded partnership led by Dr Tim Raupach to improve hail and severe-storm forecasting — giving insurers and planners better tools to manage escalating climate risks.

“What makes ICRR distinctive is that it’s inherently interdisciplinary,” ICRR Director Ben Newell said.  

“We’ve built a space where scientists, lawyers, economists and policy makers can ask unfamiliar questions and listen in new ways. That openness is at the core of its success.”

The first panel at the industry forum, chaired by Dr Wesley Morgan, brought together The Hon. Matt Kean, ‘Alopi Latukefu, Richie Merzian, and Professor Elizabeth Thurbon to explore Australia’s potential as host of COP31 in 2026.

The second panel, chaired by Prof Newell, featured Kate Lyons (Insurance Council of Australia), Dr Thomas Mortlock (Aon), and Alison Drill (Zurich Insurance). 

Ms Lyons presented recent data showing that Australians pay more per capita for climate-related losses than almost any other country, other than the US. 

“Australia is coming second in a race we don’t want to win,” she said. 

Food, finance and accountability 

Food security was another focus of the day. The third panel — featuring Dr Tim Neal, Associate Professor Dana Cordell, Associate Professor Arunima Malik, and Adam Briggs — unpacked the fragile intersection of food systems and climate, and the cascading risks this poses to health and stability.

“If there is a disruption to food production, it will influence diet quality,” said A/Prof. Malik, warning that nutritious foods could become disproportionately scarce. 

The panel underscored the need for integrated food, water and trade strategies to ensure equitable access to healthy diets in a hotter, more volatile world.

The fourth session brought together Dr Tanya Fiedler, Dr Mary Stewart, Professor Noel Harding, Rob Koh, and Damian Ogden to explore how accounting can capture the true costs of climate risk. 

“We’re trying to account for a system that’s dynamic, incomplete and deeply interconnected,” said Dr Fiedler.

The final session, led by Dr Riona Moodley, Geoff Summerhayes, Claire Snyder, and Jennifer Balding, focused on corporate governance and accountability.  

The day also featured demonstrations of CSIRO’s EcoActionAI — a tool using the latest climate science to improve information for climate risk reporting and management.

“Our climate-risk community in Australia is still relatively small, despite its fast growth,” said Professor Ben Newell. “The role we play in bringing this research together is incredibly important.” 

“What I really like about this forum is that it is accessible to a wide range of people,” Thomas Mortlock, a panellist at the Industry Forum, said.  

“You've got people from academia here, from industry, and from all levels of government, and it generates a really nice atmosphere to be able to talk about a lot of these topics that are cross-disciplinary. There's not really another forum like it.”

“Australia is facing rapidly increasing climate hazards and yet the number of professionals trained to interpret and act on them remains far too small,” Prof. Newell said. 

“We need more experts who can bridge climate science, economics, psychology and governance — because models alone won’t drive change unless people can understand them, communicate them and deploy them."

The ICRR has developed professional development programs to meet the growing demand for climate-risk capability across sectors. Recently, in partnership with the AGSM @ ���������¼� Business School, it launched a suite of short courses designed to build literacy in climate risk, governance, disclosure and sustainable finance.

“As our National Climate Risk Assessment shows, climate-related losses could be profound. That means more skilled climate-risk specialists are not optional, they’re essential," said Prof. Newell.