Let’s clear the air and create the climate action plan that Australians want

In response to the growing desire amongst all Australians for real action on climate change, the Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia (BCSD Australia) is convening a summit in our nation’s capital on Tuesday 11 February to accelerate the national conversation on how to transition Australia to a prosperous net-zero economy by no later than 2050.

We know that building and implementing a robust and practical roadmap to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 is not just a challenge for just one parliament, one political party, or for that matter one generation. All Australians and all parts of the community must be a part of a process of shaping our future national direction to achieve and then go beyond our targets. Our intent is not to be something brand new, but to amplify and cross-fertilise and document the extraordinary work in Australia that has already been done by so many.

There will be four sessions during the Summit which will articulate and discuss possibilities and challenges in achieving a net-zero economy for the following sectors:

• Power (grids, microgrids, PPAs, renewables)
• Industry (including manufacturing and materials management)
• Cities and Transport (including infrastructure), and
• Land Use (food, agriculture and forestry)

In each session expert speakers and interactive audience feedback will chart how we build an aspirational national roadmap net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, as called for by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Specifically, Summit attendees will start a year-long initiative to frame an ambitious Nationally Determined Contribution for Australia’s emission reductions.

BCSD Australia is being supported in building this roadmap of practical, aspirational and equitable pathways by the We Mean Business Coalition and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

BCSD Australia invites representatives from all parts of the community – business, not-for-profits, academia, city and state government policymakers, professionals and the wider population – to join us at the Summit to be inspired and to share their stories of action.

Powerful solutions have already been proposed by so many and so we want to invite feedback through our website www.bcsda.org.au to record key national information and opportunities on Action, Ambition and ways to address Transition and opportunities for people across Australia and around the globe  to understand Australia’s effort toward and plans to realise a net-zero carbon future.

At the Summit, the Independent Member for Warringah, Zali Steggall OAM, will also share with the Summit delegates her vision for policy action.

Other confirmed speakers include:

• Brooke Donnelly, CEO,  Australian Packaging Covenant Organisation
• Jan Gardberg, CEO & CSO, IKEA Australia / New Zealand
• Dr John Hewson, Chair, Business Council for Sustainable Development Australia
• Shane Rattenbury, Minister for Climate Change, ACT Government
• Behyad Jafari, CEO, Electric Vehicle Council
• Prof. Frank Jotzo, Crawford School of Public Policy, Australian National University
• Jonathan Jutsen, CEO,  Australian Alliance for Energy Productivity
• Toby Kent, Chief Resilience Officer, Melbourne City Council
• Olivia Kember, Strategy & Policy Manager, Energetics
• Jackie McKeon, Manager Renewable Energy, WWF Australia
• Luke Menzel, CEO,  Energy Efficiency Council
• Michelle Hutton, CEO, Edelman Australia
• Elizabeth Ryan, Deputy Director of the UN Global Compact – Cities Programme
• Anna Skarbek, CEO, ClimateWorks Australia
• Tony Wood, Grattan Institute