Climate Change and Democracy: Perils, Promise, and Prospects?

A UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Public Lecture by Professor Joo-Cheong Tham, Melbourne Law School and UWA Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellow.

The climate crisis is equally a crisis for democracy both in terms of the extreme dangers it poses and the profound opportunities it presents.

Drawing upon the first major study of climate change and democracy in the Asia-Pacific region, this presentation will illuminate the challenges faced by democracies in the climate crisis and ways to address them.

This presentation will be based on a report for International IDEA, Climate Change and Democracy: Insights from Asia and the Pacific (2023).

Professor Tham’s visit to UWA is supported by an Institute of Advanced Studies Visiting Fellowship. During his stay he will work with colleagues in the disciplines of Law, Political Science and Philosophy.

Joo-Cheong Tham is a Professor at Melbourne Law School with expertise in labour law and public law. His labour law research focusses on the regulation of precarious work. He is the author of Money and Politics: The Democracy We Can’t Afford (2010, UNSW Press); Electoral Democracy: Australian Prospects (2011, MUP); The Funding of Political Parties: Where Now? (2012, Routledge), and a collection co-edited with Caroline Kelly on Democracy, Social Justice and the Role of Trade Unions (2021, Anthem Press).