As climate change exacerbates extreme weather events, Australia will experience more frequent and severe disasters – with the massive human and economic cost visible in recent high-profile disasters such as the 2019-2020 Black Summer bushfires and catastrophic floods in 2022. These challenging, cascading, and systemic conditions are already placing enormous pressure on our emergency and disaster response systems.

This symposium draws together Canberra-based researchers and practitioners to strengthen a community of practice on climate and disaster security – supporting cutting-edge policymaking built on the latest scientific evidence. The symposium is solution-oriented: we aim to identify specific, actionable solutions and opportunities for further collaboration across the scientific and whole-of- government policymaking communities on Australian climate security and disaster resilience.