Graphical representation of a network analysis by Nick Frank — Dr Nicholas Frank

Policy Symposium 2023: Extinction thwarted? The nexus between climate change, social equity and health

Thank you for joining us for the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse’s inaugural annual Policy Symposium, titled ‘Extinction thwarted? The nexus between climate change, social equity and health’.

Humanity faces three major and interconnected challenges – climate change, social inequality and premature death and disease. Governance approaches to date have failed to address these problems, and in many cases have made the situation worse by approaching these issues and their common drivers in isolation from each other. For a governance response to be commensurate with the challenges faced by society, a more holistic approach is needed that brings disciplines and sectors together, and recognises the importance of addressing the common structural drivers of planetary health inequity.

Hosted by Prof Sharon Friel, Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse, with opening remarks from ANU Vice-Chancellor, Professor Brian P. Schmidt AC, and the Honourable Ged Kearney MP, attendees heard government, non-government and academic experts discuss the political, economic, and social dimensions of planetary health equity. Throughout the day we explored the role of different economic models, power in policy systems, and opportunities offered by optimising climate change mitigation policies for social and health goals.

The aim of the day was not to simply describe the problem but to identify the conditions that can enable the transformation of the system towards the promotion of the equitable enjoyment of good health for all within the context of a stable, sustainable ecosystem, and shift governance practices toward a more effective modern paradigm. The symposium comprises four consecutive sessions: Setting the Scene; Follow the Money; Advancing Progressive Policy, and Thwarting Extinction: Making it Happen.

Program

The full program, including speakers and agenda, is available here.

Registrations for this event are now closed.

Speakers

Hon Ged Kearney MP

Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care.

Brad Archer

Chief Executive Officer of the Climate Change Authority

Paul Barclay

Walkley Award winning journalist and broadcaster.

Chee Yoke Ling

Executive Director of Third World Network.

Dr Sandro Demaio

Chief Executive Officer of VicHealth.

Ian Dunlop

Australian Security Leaders Climate Group & former chair of the Australian Coal Association.

Naomi Hogan

Company Strategy Lead, Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility.

Chelsea Hunnisett

Policy & Advocacy Specialist, Climate and Health Alliance.

Dr Sophie Lewis

ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment.

Francis Nona

Proud Torres Strait Islander, Indigenous Pathways Lecturer in the School of Public Health, University of Queensland.

Nicola Roxon

Chair HESTA and VicHealth, and former Minister for Health and Attorney-General.

Dr Katherine Trebeck

Political economist, writer and advocate for economic system change.

Melinda Turner

A/g First Assistant Secretary, First Nations Health Division, Department of Health and Aged Care.

Prof Brian Schmidt AC

Vice Chancellor and President of Australian National University.

Megan Arthur

Laureate Research Fellow with the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse.

Prof Hilary Bambrick

Climate Councillor with the Climate Council and Director of the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health, ANU.

Prof Fran Baum AO

Professor of health equity at The Stretton Institute, The University of Adelaide.

Prof Jennifer Clapp

Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security and Sustainability, University of Waterloo, Canada.

Dr Nick Frank

Laureate Research Fellow with the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse, ANU.

Prof Sharon Friel

ARC Laureate Fellow and Director of the Planetary Health Equity Hothouse at ANU.

Prof Frank Jotzo

Professor and Head of Energy, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions.

Dr Veronica Matthews

Proud Quandamooka woman, Senior Research Fellow, University Centre for Rural Health, The University of Sydney.

Prof David Schlosberg

Director of the Sydney Environment Institute at the University of Sydney.

Prof Helen Sullivan

Dean, College of Asia and the Pacific and Professor of Public Policy at Australian National University.

Getting to the venue

In the spirit of the event and Hothouse, we encourage you to use active and/or public transport. Car parking on ANU campus is quite limited. You can find further information about transport and parking on the university's website, and below.

Walking from Civic (Canberra CBD)

It is about 2kms from the Alinga St tram stop (Civic) to the venue. Allocate about 40-45 minutes for the walk and to settle into your seat before the starting time of 9:15am.

@CanberraByBike @parislord

Cycling

If you come by bicycle, there is plenty of bike parking at the entrance to the building (as well as a water bubbler).

E-scooters

E-scooters are available through Beam Mobility and Neuron Mobility and are an efficient way to get from the uni’s surrounds to the venue. If you’re new to e-scooters and/or from outside of Canberra, make sure you’ve downloaded the apps first.

Driving

If you do need to drive, we encourage you to carpool. Visitors are able to park in Pay As You Go parking zones and Pay & Display zones after paying the appropriate fee to do so. There are a limited number of time limited parking bays at no charge. More information on PAYG.

Parking fees.

Map of visitors parking options.

The Planetary Health Equity Hothouse is the centrepiece of the Australian Research Council Laureate Fellowship in Governance for Planetary Health Equity, housed in the School of Regulation and Global Governance at the Australian National University.

Read here to find out more about our work.