$2 MILLION TO HELP PREPARE FOR EXTREME WEATHER EVENTS FROM CLIMATE CHANGE
Joint Media Release
The Hon Robert McClelland MP
Attorney-General
Senator the Hon Penny Wong
Minister for Climate Change and Water
8 October 2009
Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong and the Attorney-General Robert McClelland today announced a new grants program totalling $2 million to help increase understanding of extreme weather events and climate change.
“Climate change is expected to increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events including cyclones, storms, droughts, heatwaves, bushfires and floods,” Senator Wong said.
“As recent devastating events have demonstrated, we need to understand these risks to help the emergency management sector prepare better for the likely impacts of climate change.
“I encourage interested researchers to apply for funding in this round of grants under the $30 million Climate Adaptation Research Grants Program.
To help guide the research to be undertaken under the Program the Australian Government also released today the Emergency Management and Climate Change -National Adaptation Research Plan.
“The Research Plan identifies priorities in three main areas -understanding the nature and location of risks posed by climate change, identifying the most effective means to enhance community and organisational resilience to these risks, and developing adaptive strategies to respond to climate change for use by the community and emergency services,” Senator Wong said.
Mr McClelland said that planning for the increased risks from climate change is a key priority
for Australia’s emergency management sectors.
“The Government’s all-hazards approach to national security recognises that climate change is a major challenge for the security of Australians,” Mr McClelland said.
The research will also consider the capacity of our regional neighbours to adapt to the challenges of climate change, including the implications for Australia’s disaster management framework.
“This Research Plan will support a range of other enhancements to Australia’s disaster resilience framework which are being developed by the Ministerial Council for Police and Emergency Management”.
The Research Plan was developed by the Australian Government's National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility and sets out Australia's adaptation research priorities in relation to emergency management over the next five to seven years.
The expert group that developed the Plan was chaired by Emergency Management Australia. There was broad-ranging national collaboration throughout, including with research organisations, state and territory government agencies, and non-government organisations.
Emergency management is one of eight priority themes under the Government’s National Adaptation Research Facility. Others are Terrestrial Biodiversity, Primary Industries, Water Resources & Freshwater Biodiversity, Marine Biodiversity & Resources, Human Health, Settlements & Infrastructure, and Social, Economic & Institutional Dimensions.
The Government’s Climate Change Adaptation Research Grants Program will help deliver the research needed to help improve our understanding of climate change risks in the eight themes as part of the National Adaptation Research Facility.
For more information about the grants program please visit www.climatechange.gov.au
To download a copy of the Emergency Management Research Plan please visit www.nccarf.edu.au
