Friday 23rd of Feb 2024
The following experts are available for comment on the NSW Government releasing the nation’s first State Disaster Mitigation Plan (SDMP)
Analysis from the NSW Reconstruction Authority finds the state is on track for an annual damage bill of $9bn by 2060 if the effects of climate change and population growth are not mitigated. The northern beaches of Sydney and the Byron Bay region are to bear the brunt of worsening disasters, with storm surges, coastal erosion and flood events to worsen as we approach 2060.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Professor Paula Jarzabkowski - Disaster insurance expert, School of Business, University of Queensland
Location: Brisbane, QLD
Professor Paula Jarzabkowski is a global expert in the public-private mechanisms to address the insurance protection gap financially and reduce the underlying risk, and she is ranked in the top 1% of scholars in Economics and Business. She can speak to the insurance protection gap on multiple perils including climate change and major weather events such as bushfires, cyclones and floods; she can give comment on the financial protection and resilience to disaster in both advanced and developing economies; and can give insights on how insurance markets underpin the economy, including mortgages, credit and lending.
Paula maintains strong links to industry through a range of advisory roles including with the OECD, Lloyd's of London and Pool RE. Her research regularly informs policy and is often cited in print, radio and TV media.
DISASTER MITIGATION
Dr Jean Renouf founder and chair of Plan C, academic at Southern Cross University and on-call firefighter
Location: Lismore, NSW.
Jean can speak to community response and resilience efforts. Jean helps to run free community training that upskills community members in disaster preparedness and response to extreme weather events such as bushfires, floods and heatwaves. The training covers food, water and energy security, emergency communications, community-building, psychological first aid, and more. He has a wealth of knowledge and learnings and can talk about how best to prepare and adapt communities across Australia who may be faced with worsening climate change.
Rebecca McNaught - Research Fellow - Rural and Remote Health at the University Centre for Rural Health (University of Sydney) in Lismore
Location: Northern Rivers, NSW. - (not available 1.45pm - 3.15pm AEDT)
Rebecca role focuses on the intersection of rural communities/health and wellbeing/climate extremes and disaster recovery - https://healnetwork.org.au/
Rebecca is on the board of Plan C as co-leader of the research team, and she is the president of the South Golden Beach Community Resilience Team.
She has undertaken her PhD at Griffith University, on the topic of local level collaboration for disaster and climate change resilience in the Northern Rivers of NSW. She is the author of several academic papers on climate change adaptation, communication of early warnings and collaborative inter-agency approaches to building disaster resilience.. She previously worked across the Asia, Pacific and Middle East regions as a climate and disaster advisor to the Red Cross and United Nations - Bec can speak to the community/local perspective and academic community preparedness angle.
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS please contact Sean Kennedy, 0447 121 378 sean.kennedy@climatemediacentre.org.au
Contact details:
FOR INTERVIEW REQUESTS please contact Sean Kennedy, 0447 121 378 sean.kennedy@climatemediacentre.org.au
