Jigar Shar to present at Energy Futures Conference

Jigar Shar, CEO, Carbon War Room, is now confirmed to present at the upcoming Australia21 conference, via video link to Washington.
 
The Carbon War Room was formed to ‘harness the power of entrepreneurs to implement market-driven solutions to climate change’, and was set up by Richard Branson, José María Figueres (former President, Costa Rica & CEO, World Economic Forum), and others.

Dr David Martin, Founder, Global Innovation Commons, USA will be presenting in person, along with John Hewson, Richard Hames, David Miles, Andrew Lawson, Will Steffen, Anna Skarbek, John White, Anthony Bergin, Tony Coleman, and others who will focus on the prosperity opportunities that climate change can bring to Australia.

Innovation – Driving Resilient Energy and Economic Futures a one-day conference will take place Thursday 14 April 2011 at ANU.  Further details here.

Media release: Need for a resilience framework

Following is the text of a media release issued by Australia 21 on Saturday 12 March.

Billions of dollars at risk by not having a resilience framework

The recent Queensland floods and the terrible Japanese earthquake illustrate how major environmental disturbances can throw lives, infrastructure, and governments into chaos. How they recover is a sign of their resilience.

‘One thing we know’, says Prof Richard Hames, the newly appointed President of Australia21, ‘is that the future will surprise us. We don’t know how, or where or when.’

Pressure is mounting from the impacts of environmental and community upheaval from environmental turbulence.  ‘We don’t have to wait doing nothing until the next disaster strikes that would be foolish’.

‘A resilience framework will allow for a more considered approach to dealing with these issues,’ Prof Hames stressed.

There is an urgent need at federal, state, and local levels for a resilience policy framework to target investment for both human capital and infrastructure so as to optimise the recovery of communities and local economies.

There is a serious danger of undermining resilience by going back to the way we were and not proactively addressing resilience issues.

Prof Hames said we must ask the question how the Senate can pass the flood levy without a resilience framework.

Consideration of resilience and complex systems dynamics will increase our opportunities of finding durable solutions to natural disasters.

Building a more resilient nation will require developing resilience tools, such as strength and speed of feedback mechanisms, diversity of ideas and resources, and a strong capacity for self-organising.

Australia21 is hosting a national conference examining energy and economic futures through a resilience and innovation lens. The conference discussion will help shape the way we as a nation prepare for a climate change future.

The conference will be held at Australian National University – conference details at: - http://www.australia21.org.au/conference_April_2011.html

For more information contact:

Prof Richard Hames - President, Australia21 - m) 0419 851 523

Dr Lynne Reeder – Executive Director, Australia21 - m) 0431 608 958 w) 02 6288 0823

Richard Hames takes the helm at Australia 21

Friday 10 March saw Australia 21 celebrate the tenth anniversary of its foundation with dinner in the Great Hall in University House at the Australian National University.

At a meeting of the Australia 21 Board during the day, Australia 21’s Foundation Chairman, Professor Emeritus Bob Douglas AO, stepped down from the Chair and was succeeded by Richard David Hames, who becomes the body’s first President.

In appreciation of his decade of service to Australia 21, the Board appointed Professor Douglas, who will remain on the Board, Founder Patron.

Richard David Hames is a corporate philosopher, author and knowledge designer. Working at the interface between organisations and society, he is widely considered to be among the world's most influential intellectuals and strategic futurists.

An Australian citizen, educated in Europe and domiciled in Thailand, Richard has been honoured with numerous awards including a French Government Scholarship, a Leverhulme European Fellowship, the Mondadori Professorial Fellowship and the inaugural Lord Attlee Fellowship.

Richard is Founder and Honorary President of The Hames Group (a globally distributed think-tank and strategic design laboratory); Director of Thoughtpost Edge; and Distinguished Professor and founding Director of the Asian Foresight Institute at Dhurakij Pundit University in Bangkok.

For more on Richard’s background and achievements, see here.