Every morning from 11-15th December 2023, CMS & IMAS hosted a special online webinar series titled 'The Long Hot Summer: Getting Ahead of the Heatwave'.

Please see original event page for the webinar series here: The Long Hot Summer: Getting Ahead of the Heatwave (CMS Events)

Background: Australia's southeast is currently up to 4 degrees warmer than expected, with a projected marine heatwave that is expected to be off the scale, raising the prospect of significant impacts to conservation, fishing and aquaculture. This necessitates extensive climate-related communications and sharing of knowledge from (and among) industry, government, researchers, NGO’s and others. Whilst communication is necessary, it unfortunately also raises legitimate concerns regarding increasing anxiety of individuals. Current research suggests that communication regarding climate extreme events needs to include examples of tangible actions that people can do that are constructive and helpful – this can help people feel like they have a degree of agency and are empowered.

Presentation slides and recordings can be accessed below:

Monday 11^th December: Hot seas ahead: current and projected ocean and coastal conditions for Tasmania

Ocean and coastal changes and future projections – Chaired by Prof Mary-Anne Lea

• Marine heatwaves - what's happening & what can we expect (Download Slides) – Prof Neil Holbrook
• How is the Integrated Marine Observing System adapting for the heatwave? (Download Slides) – Prof Chari Pattiaratchi (UWA)
• Where to access user-friendly observation and forecast information about ocean conditions? (Download Slides) – Dr Ed Doddridge

Tuesday 12th December: Turning up the temperature - impacts on the ecosystem

Biological & ecological changes associated with warming & heatwaves – Chaired by Assoc Prof Kerrie Swadling

• Heatwaves and algal blooms – Prof Gustaaf Hallegraeff
• Kelp - Help is on the way! (Download Slides) – Dr Cayne Layton
• Seabirds and the heatwave (Download Slides) – Dr Lauren Roman
• Threatened species – heatwave risks and what can we do to reduce these? – Assoc Prof Neville Barrett

Wednesday 13th December: From the ocean to the plate - impacts & hot tips for seafood

Implications for fisheries & aquaculture – Chaired by Dr Katie Creswell

• Heat stress impacts on abalone (Download Slides) – Dr Jaime McAllister
• Heatwave concerns and best practice for healthy lobsters – Assoc Prof Quinn Fitzgibbon
• Aquaculture feed & husbandry – Dr Daniel Pountney
• Tips for the harvest and supply of food-safe seafood (Download Slides) – Dr Andreas Seger

Thursday 14^th December: Heatwave help - what action is happening & what else can we do?

Risks and hazards, preparedness – Chaired by Dr Emily Ogier

• Fisheries research to support preparedness for climate change (Download Slides) – Dr Alyssa Marshell
• The palawa heatwave response plan – Zoe Cozens & Jamie Graham-Blair
• The NRE Tasmania Marine Heatwave Response plan (Download Slides) – Frances Seaborn
• Preparing the seafood sector – Julian Harrington

Playback 'Day 4' video recording of the webinar series here: Webinar Series: The Long Hot Summer (Day 4) - Video Recording

Friday 15th December: Communicating climate with authenticity to drive action (& minimise anxiety!)

What to communicate and how – Chaired by Prof Gretta Pecl

• The psychology of distrust in science – Assoc Prof Matt Palmer
• Communicating across polarised audiences – Dr Chloe Lucas
• Communicating to drive action and inspire hope – Dr Gabi Mocatta

Further resources:

• Climate Friction - YouTube
• Lucas 2021 'Climate friction: How climate change communication produces resistance to concern', Geographical Research, https://doi.org/10.1111/1745-5871.12514

Playback 'Day 5' video recording of the webinar series here: Webinar Series: The Long Hot Summer (Day 5) - Video Recording

Congratulations to the Curious Climate Tasmania (CCT) team who were a finalist, and one of two ‘highly commended’ awards in the International Green Gown Awards, part of the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development, in the ‘Benefiting Society’ category.

CCT delivers public-powered scientific engagement, bridging the gap between experts and audiences with credible, relevant information about climate change. CCT is different from most science communication projects in that content is driven by its participants. It asks the Tasmanian community what they want to know about climate change, and responds directly to their questions.

The Curious Climate Tasmania team is a collaboration across UTAS but led by Professor Gretta Pecl (IMAS/CMS) and Dr Chloe Lucas (GPSS/CMS) and is a novel and highly successful science engagement program that links experts and the broader community to provide credible, relevant information about climate change but is importantly driven by public interests.

Read more and watch a short video here: University of Tasmania, Australia | Green Gown Awards.

CMS was lucky to have a fourth year Arts student from Beaux-arts de Paris, Sarah el Idrissi, spend several weeks with CMS. Here is a short video she made during a visit to Maria Island with CMS Director Professor Gretta Pecl, and marine ecologists Professor Sean Connell and Adriana Vergés. The video is set to music from the Bahrain pearl divers men’s choir

Supported by CMS, this film explores Tasmanian Aboriginal connection to kelp forests. The film also features CMS affiliate Dean Greeno, and was released January 6^th at an amazing launch event. Watch the film and see the pics here.

Prof Gretta Pecl is an Ambassador for Business Events Tasmania

Abstract: Our global society is severely addicted to a particular vision of the world and a future that has become both unsustainable and undesirable. The facts about our predicament – climate and environmental disruption, biodiversity loss, growing inequality, financial instability, eroding democracy – have been known for decades. However, the solutions have also been known for just as long. So why have we not made faster progress? What is holding us back? This talk frames our current predicament as a societal addiction to a ‘growth at all costs’ economic paradigm. While economic growth has produced many benefits, its side effects are now producing existential problems that are rapidly getting worse. We can learn from what works at the individual level to overcome addictions to design therapies that may work at the societal scale. The first step to recovery is recognizing the addiction and that it is leading to disaster. However, simply pointing out the dire consequences of our societal addiction can be counterproductive by itself in motivating change. The key next step is creating a truly shared vision of the kind of world we all want. We need to design and test creative ways to implement this societal therapy. The final step is using that shared vision to motivate the changes needed to achieve it, including adaptive transformations of our economic systems, property rights regimes, and governance institutions.

Please see below recording of the webinar.

This webinar explored climate change adaptation from the cutting-edge science to on-the-ground action. Looking at what is happening locally to adapt to the impacts of climate change and Tasmania’s role in broader programs like the National Environmental Science Program.

This forum was hosted by the patron of National Science Week Tasmania and CMS member, Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas.

Panel:
• Associate Professor Sarah Boulter, Associate Professor in Climate Change Adaptation, University of Tasmania and Climate Adaptation Mission Lead, National Environmental Science Program
• Katrina Graham, Senior Climate Change Officer, Hobart City Council

CMS members Dr Jess Melbourne-Thomas presented the talk "Challenges and solutions for Antarctic marine biodiversity under climate change", and Prof Marcus Haward presented the talk "Marine Biodiversity in the Southern Ocean: Lessons from CCAMLR" at the panel.

Plenary presentation at the World Fisheries Congress, 20-24 September 2021, Virtual