Climate360° : a changing climate's impact & brilliant people making a difference

For over a decade Australia’s clean energy policy stagnated during the climate wars, leaving the country effectively without an energy policy. While things have improved, we are still moving too slow. This episode will explore why. Most importantly, it will explore why our politicians are so unwilling to commit to an energy transition at the speed and scale that most Australian’s want. And why our...

Of all the different ways we can act to help mitigate climate change, with what we eat, how we build and what we buy, nothing is more critical to climate change than the urgent need to transition away from carbon-intensive fossil fuels. That is why our third series of conversations on Climate360º focuses squarely on clean energy and the end of coal, oil and gas. Our first guest is a powerful and u...

There is a growing connection between anxiety and an increased engagement with the changing climate. In this episode of Climate360°, hosts Andrew Mackenzie and Sam Redston sit down with Bronwyn Gresham — clinical psychologist and CEO of Psychology for a Safe Climate — to explore what’s really going on beneath the surface when we engage with the climate crisis. Bronwyn unpacks the full spectrum of...

In the most recent Climate Change Performance Index (2025), Australia has dropped two ranks to 52nd place. But a recent emboldening of Federal government may see that negative trend reverse. This interview unpacks Australia’s current climate policy platform, and while being a long way from perfect, the positive changes occurring in Australia’s performance. We will look at how research can help inf...

All across Australia there are communities taking climate action into their own hands. One example is in rural Victoria, where Totally Renewable Yakandanah (TRY) is a 100% volunteer run community group with “the lofty goal of powering this small Victorian town with 100% renewable energy, giving resilience, savings, lower emissions and showing that it can be done”. We talk to Juliette Milbank and M...

In the blame game of who is doing most, or least, corporations are not typically showered in climate glory. While some large companies are taking meaningful steps to decarbonise, there is also growing criticisms of greenwashing and climate tokenism. The Australian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is a major player in shining a spotlight on the good and the bad. We speak to ACCR executive...

For much of the recent two decades Australia’s big emitters have done a great job pushing the politics of climate denial. But we have, surely, now crossed the Rubicon. It’s real, and we need to do our bit. We talk to Ross Garnaut AC about his life work making the case that Australia must do its fair share. That means understanding the economic impacts and opportunities of the changing world we mus...

What does it mean to be committed to sustainability, while working in an industry responsible for 40% of the world’s carbon emissions? Firstly, it means trying hard to adapt and retain old buildings, rather than bulldoze and start again. That’s about one third of those building emissions. Secondly, it means making buildings that are super efficient to run, with ‘operational carbon emissions’ accou...

Professor Paula Jarzabkowski talks to us about how housing in high-risk areas is bad policy and leads to an increase in what she calls the insurance protection gap. Our building codes are also not adapting to new climate conditions. As is so often the case in considering climate impacts, those at greatest risk are those least able to afford those impacts. About Paula Professor Paula Jarzabkowski i...

Doug Rennie is a third-generation farmer and regenerative agriculture trail-blazer. With a mix of changing climate and soil degradation biting hard on the farm’s productivity, his family is now exploring the cultivation and commercialization of industrial hemp. He talks about the challenges of introducing hemp as a viable crop in Australia, dealing with regulatory hurdles, production complexities,...

Join us as we interview Joost Bakker on the design of the Regenerative Futures Studio for Woodleigh School, a learning centre that exemplifies his principles. The project utilises carbon-sequestering materials like hemp and straw, emphasising the distinction between net-zero and truly regenerative design. The buildings also have a thriving indigenous rooftop garden incorporating an innovative rain...

Join us for the second part of our conversation with Professor Dan Hill is a renowned designer, urbanist, and educator, currently based at the Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne. With a career spanning over two decades, Dan has led transformative projects intersecting design, technology, and urban development across global cities, including Manchester's Northern Quarter and...

Professor Dan Hill is a renowned designer, urbanist, and educator, currently based at the Melbourne School of Design at the University of Melbourne. With a career spanning over two decades, Dan has led transformative projects intersecting design, technology, and urban development across global cities, including Manchester's Northern Quarter and Google's campuses. His expertise lies in crafting soc...

Building is a series of interviews with diverse thinkers and doers from the worlds of research, design, insurance, engineering and farming. Each in turn discusses how their work intersects with climate and building. Five full interviews will be published weekly, from next week, however we kick off this week with a ClimateRelay - a short excerpt from each of five interviews running back-to-back. In...