Cities dominate the world’s carbon emissions and energy use. Achieving net zero emissions by 2050 therefore demands that cities and local communities make rapid shifts across all sectors of the built environment. In this panel event, leading international policy makers, practitioners and scholars debate the evolving state of climate policy and practice, global resilience efforts, and implications for Australian cities and regions.

This event is being held in collaboration with the Sydney Environment Institute.

Panel

Carlos Martin, Remodeling Futures Program, Harvard University

Beck Dawson, Resilient Sydney - City of Sydney

Sanjay Seth, Climate Resilience Expert, USA

Sam Kernaghan, Committee for Sydney

Gabriela Quintana Vigiola, University of Technology Sydney

Chaired by: Dr Katherine Owens, University of Sydney

Carlos Martín is Project Director of the Remodeling Futures Program at Harvard University, and has over 25 years of experience researching housing technology and the physical quality of existing homes. Dr. Martín's research on green housing, disaster mitigation and recovery, substandard housing, construction innovation, and the construction workforce connects the bricks-and-mortar of existing housing to its social outcomes. Carlos is currently serving as a David M. Rubenstein Fellow at the Brookings Institution's Metropolitan Policy Program and also serves on several National Academy of Science committees.

Beck Dawson is the Chief Resilience Officer for Resilient Sydney, hosted by the City of Sydney Council . Since 2015, Beck has led the development and implementation of the Resilient Sydney Strategy, working with governments, business, and the community to build collaboration and investment for a stronger, more connected, and more resilient city. As a property sustainability expert, her background is in long-term planning and investment in natural and built environments. She was previously the General Manager of Corporate Sustainability at Investa Property Group, and worked on resilience committees in the Australian property sector.

Sanjay Seth is a climate reliance expert who has previously worked for the City of Boston on programs to help prepare the city for the impacts of climate change. Prior to Boston, Sanjay worked on climate-focused projects for City of New York, New Orleans, LA, Newburyport, MA, the State of Rhode Island, and a regional partnership in South Florida. Sanjay is a dual-degree graduate in the Master in Public Administration program at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government and the Master in Urban Planning program at the Harvard Graduate School of Design.

Sam Kernaghan is Director of Resilience Program at the Committee for Sydney, leading research and advocacy focussed on decarbonising Sydney and adapting the city to a changing climate. Over the past 20 years, Sam has worked with more than 50 cities across Asia, Oceania and the USA to build community preparedness, and system scale resilience to the shocks and stresses that are being intensified by climate change and urbanisation. Sam has led climate and disaster resilience programs with the Red Cross, Rockefeller Foundation, Resilient Cities Network, Asian Development Bank, and with State Governments from NSW to New York.

Gabriela Quintana Vigiola lectures in urban planning and urban design at the School of the Built Environment at the University of Technology Sydney. Her interests range from urban design to cultural and psychosocial studies. Gabriela's approach is transdisciplinary, combining her expertise in urban planning and place with her knowledge of environmental and community psychology, giving her an edge when addressing and investigating matters related to the relationship between people and their spaces.

Katherine Owens is a Senior Lecturer in Environmental Law at the University of Sydney Law School, Associate Dean of Professional Law Programs, Program Director of the Juris Doctor degree and Director of the Australian Centre for Climate and Environmental Law. Her research combines both social and legal methods to address significant issues of environmental law and governance, including how law and governance should manage climate change, energy transitions, water scarcity, environmental finance and the risks of coal seam gas mining.

The event will be live streamed on the Henry Halloran Trust Youtube channel. Please register for remote attendance.

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The annual Festival of Urbanism is an initiative of the University of Sydney's Henry Halloran Trust and is hosted in partnership with Monash University.