‘That old way of thinking that the next generation coming through will do something about climate change is a bit of a cop out. We are the next generation and we must act now,’ he said.
Dr Hardisty is the director of the Climate Adaptation Flagship at CSIRO Australia, which works with research and industry groups nationally and overseas to tackle the challenges of adapting to life in a changing climate.
He said last year was one of the warmest on record and extreme weather events would only increase as the planet continued to heat up.
Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE
Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.
READ NOWHe said the key to the planet’s resilience to extreme weather could lie in natural asset protection.
‘A lot of what we can do now is not going to cost us anything. It doesn’t cost any money to preserve our natural assets,’ he said.
‘Things are changing. It’s going to be a very different looking world. We have to look at the long-term ” the bigger picture. It is important as a society we do what we can to protect ourselves.’
The International BiodiverCities Conference (logo pictured), hosted by the City of Joondalup and the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives, will be held at Joondalup Resort, from September 9 to 11.
The conference brings together regional and international environmental experts to discuss ideas about climate change and its effect on biodiversity.
nOther key speakers include 2007’s Australian of the Year Tim Flannery, The University of WA’s Stephen Hopper, CSIRO Australia’s Michael Dunlop, NZ’s University of Waikato Bruce Clarkson, Debra Roberts from South Africa, Lei Yang from Taiwan and Haripriya Gundimeda from India.