Climate and Sustainable Cities and Communities: Implications and actions for Melbourne

Join us in this climate and sustainable cities conversation – hear from people working in this space globally and locally, contribute your ideas and experience, and participate in discussions about having effective climate and cities planning.

This event explores the inextricable link between global climate change and urban life in Melbourne. It will question what makes a sustainable city and community and how local actions and planning for climate resilience and adaptation will shape our future locally and contribute to global climate and urban transformation.

The event is being presented in collaboration with the UNAA Victoria Future Leaders Network and the Planning Institute of Australia Emerging Planners

Climate and Sustainable Cities and Communities: SDG11

As cities continue to grow and respond to climate change, the challenge is how best to build cities that are sustainable, fairer and more inclusive. With cities now home to 45% of the world's population (more than double than in 1950), urban resilience will feature prominently in discussions at the UN’s 2026 Climate Conference, COP31.

Against this backdrop, this event will bring together people who are interested in exploring what it takes to build a genuinely sustainable and inclusive city and community, and how we can do that in Melbourne?

Are you person working on - or who has an idea for - an innovative project which can contribute to Melbourne as a sustainable city and community? Bring your projects/ideas along to this interactive event which will focus on ways that we can use innovation to ensure Melbourne’s sustainability in the face of climate change.  Or just come along to find out what is happening in Melbourne!

Sustainability leaders will talk about how they are contributing to achieving SDGs 11 and 13 in Melbourne before everyone will be able to move between stations and have informal conversations with these leaders.

SDG 11 Station Speakers

This event will be an interactive gathering aimed at showcasing leaders already working on innovative projects, providing the audience with thought provoking ideas and opportunities to speak informally in small groups to these SDG 11 leaders. Attendees will move in small groups to speak with them at designated SDG stations.

Station 1: Melbourne City DNA - a unique opportunity to see the city through a live printed, projection-mapped 3D city model and discover insights via interactive touchscreen maps. Hosted by Candace Jordan, Climate Change Adaptation Lead, City of Melbourne

Station 2: Urban biodiversity Bees and Blossoms (Clancy Lester - the Bee Man) a City of Melbourne. Youth Climate Action Grant recipient

Station 3: Gender lens on planning for SDG 11 – Lola Bateman Planning Institute of Australia (Vic) Emerging Planners & Tamara Lowen, PIA Women in Planning Network representative.

Station 4: Swimmable Birrarung– Charity Mosienyane, Lead Convenor Swimmable Birrarung from Regen Melbourne, & Janet Bolitho form Yarra Riverkeeper Association representative

Station 5: Sustainability Modelling for SDG 11 Precinct planning with Laura Little, Senior Advisor in (Digital Twin enabled Sustainable Sunshine Precinct Development - RACE for 2030)

Station 6: Indigenous knowledge for SDG11 Kai Lane - Traditional Owner Representative & Trainee Ecologist, Ecology & Restoration Australia (ERA) and Environmental Education Programs Habitat Warriors

Station 7: Urban Forests & Green Public Spaces- Urban Forest representative, Mo Bruckhoff, Parks and City Greening, City of Melbourne

Station 8: Youth lens on COP 31 & SDG 11: DCCEEW Youth Advisory Council on International Climate Change, Kaaviyan Pathmasiri.

This event forms part of the United Nations Association of Australia (Victoria) and City of Melbourne’s 2026 Climate and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) event series.

In 2026, COP31 will be hosted in Türkiye, with Australia assuming the COP presidency of negotiations. This is a defining role for Australia and the Pacific to influence global climate discussions in the lead-up to, and at the conference in November.

In recognition of Australia’s position in the global climate agenda, UNAA Victoria and the City of Melbourne are partnering to deliver a series of seven events to highlight climate action and the localising of the United Nations’ 17 SDGs.

UNAA Victoria is dedicated to engaging local communities in advancing the SDGs, including those related to human rights and climate change.

City of Melbourne is a global leader on climate action and sustainability, winning the 2024 UN-Habitat Shanghai Global Award for Sustainable Development in Cities. Melbourne was also the first Australian city to produce an SDGs Voluntary Local Review. Together, we play crucial roles in connecting the community to climate and sustainability action frameworks provided by the SDGs.

Our next event in the series will be held in September and will look at climate and circular economies. More details soon.