Shift in attitude - Sarah Barker

Minter Ellison special counsel Sarah Barker will be speaking at Shepparton’s La Trobe University about climate change thanks to Slap Tomorrow.

Special speaker: Minter Ellison special counsel
 Sarah Barker will talk about climate change at
 Shepparton’s La Trobe University today.

Ms Barker has two decades of experience advising Australian and multi-national clients on governance, compliance, misleading disclosure and competition law issues.

Her expertise in the environmental, social, governance field in financial services and investment, and its relationship to fiduciary duties, is internationally recognised by organisations, such as the Bank of England and European Union.

As a lawyer at Minter Ellison, one of the largest practices in the Asia Pacific, Ms Barker is aware of the shifts corporations and large investors have experienced in the financial market’s attitude towards climate change.

‘‘Markets now see climate change as a financial risk rather than environmental,’’ she said.

Ms Barker said markets had seen people’s attitudes to climate change shift, so they had shifted their views and were looking at what they could do to combat climate change.

‘‘We really, really need to understand the shifts that have occurred internationally, so we are not left behind,’’ she said.

‘‘If internationally financial markets believe it, then business has to respond.’’

Ms Barker said countries in the European Union stopped debating climate change 20 years ago, but in some ways Australia had remained on the fence.

Ms Barker said coming to Shepparton would help her learn more about what businesses were thinking about climate change and her talk would discuss how businesses could become involved in the changing world of business.

‘‘The impact on each individual business is always going to be unique to each business,’’ she said. ● Sarah Barker will speak at La Trobe University, North St, Shepparton tonight at 6 pm. This event is free to attend there will be a light supper. For more information, phone 0400 502 199.

Story by Sionnie Kelly in today’s Shepparton News - “Shift in attitude.”

An opportunity in Shepparton to engage with the climate change conversation

A further opportunity to again join the climate change conversation arises soon in Shepparton.

A seminar entitled: “Climate Change – planning for the future” will be held at La Trobe University’s Shepparton campus on Wednesday, April 30, starting at 11:00am.

Conducting the seminar will be a senior project officer - climate change with the Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority, Kate Brunt, and a sub-project manager with the National Resource Management Planning for Climate Change fund, Helen Murdoch.

A brochure outlining the seminar says:

The Seminar

The Goulburn Broken Regional Catchment Strategy (RCS) identifies climate change as a key driver in regional Natural Resource Management (NRM) planning.

The Goulburn Broken Catchment Management Authority (CMA) has received funding* to develop a strategy for building new climate change information into the Catchment’s regional planning approach.

The strategy will be built around 5 key components-

1. identify priority landscapes for climate change adaptation

2. identify management actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation, including carbon sequestration, within priority landscapes;

3. identify risks to catchment processes from carbon sequestration activities and mitigation actions

4. be informed by engagement with the community and stakeholders; and

5. outline a plan for implementing the GBRCS adaptive management framework.

A Spatial Assessment Tool will be developed to assess the first three components, while a series of community and industry engagement activities will be conducted, and the plan for implementing the adaptive management framework developed. The strategy will facilitate the incorporation of continuous learning into the Goulburn Broken CMA’s strategic planning framework.

Whilst this project is not completed yet some of the most important learning to date is how the project’s components must interact to provide a useful and enduring climate change planning strategy. This seminar will outline some of the questions to be asked and the challenges to be addressed in order to provide a framework for climate change planning into the future.

Those eager to attend the seminar should RSVP by Tuesday, April 29, by telephoning (03) 5820 8600 or via email at Shepparton.seminars@latrobe.edu.au.