VfCA Masterclass - How our changing climate is impacting animals and their carers: adaptive responses for the veterinary profession

The human influence on global temperatures is now unequivocal. There is accumulating evidence of significant human impacts on key climate indicators including extreme events that are affecting both human and natural systems across the planet. 

Join VfCA Board Director and IPCC Vice Chair Professor Mark Howden to learn about the broad implications of rapid temperature and other key climate indicators on animals and their carers.

Mark will explore the scientific consequences of increased greenhouse gases, examine net-zero emission targets, and the adaptive responses and underlying processes that are important to  the veterinary profession.

The event will be hosted by VfCA Ambassador, Dr Geoff Wilson AM.

About the Presenter:

A VfCA Board Director since 2022, Professor Mark Howden is Vice Chair of the IPCC, and Director of the Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, Australian National University. He is also an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, School of Land and Food and Chair of the ACT Climate Change Council. 

Mark’s work has focussed on how climate impacts on, and innovative adaptation options for, systems we value: agriculture and food security, the natural resource base, ecosystems and biodiversity, energy, water and urban systems. He has also developed the national (NGGI) and international (IPCC/OECD) greenhouse gas inventories for the agricultural sector and assessed sustainable methods of reducing net greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture.

Mark has over 390 publications of different types, and has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adoption issues for over 27 years in partnership with farmers, farmer groups, catchment groups, industry bodies, agribusiness, urban utilities and various policy agencies via both research and science-policy roles. 

Mark has been a major contributor to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and now Sixth Assessment reports and various IPCC Special Reports, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other IPCC participants and Al Gore. Recently Mark sat on the US Federal Advisory Committee for the 3rd National Climate Assessment and he participates in several other international science and policy advisory bodies.

About VfCA's Ambassador:

Dr. Geoff Wilson AM is a world-class polar explorer, dynamic keynote speaker, entrepreneur, family man and veterinary surgeon. Geoff holds multiple records for unsupported solo expeditions in Antarctica including the longest unsupported solo polar journey in history. He was also the first person to summit Antarctica's Dome Argus. In partnership with his son, Geoff’s next project is a docu-series as they explore the world's most isolated and vulnerable environments. From the South to the North Pole they will document the visible impact of global warming on these landscapes and engage with the world's leading climate scientists, advocates and initiatives.

Geoff also founded VetLove in 2015, which is a family-run and Australian-owned company of 13 state-of-the-art animal hospitals across Northern NSW and South East QLD, all focused on Love, Compassion and Excellence in Vetcare with a goal of becoming carbon neutral in two years.

Masterclass Order of Events

7pm AEST - Opening Remarks by Dr Geoff Wilson

7:10pm AEST - Prof Mark Howden's presentation

7:45pm AEST - Q&A with Mark

8pm AEST - Masterclass ends