A few weeks ago, I was invited to take part in a young professionals’ event organized by the NESP Earth Systems and Climate and Change (ESCC) Hub and jointly hosted by the Actuaries Institute and Engineers Australia. This was the first time I engaged with the industry as a ‘climate scientist’ and I was both excited and nervous. The aim of this event was to bring together early career climate scientists and young professionals across various sectors (insurance, actuaries, engineers) using a scenario-planning exercise to analyze some hypothetical future climate-related problems. The primary objectives for these events as determined by the ESCC Hub are to raise awareness about the utility of climate science knowledge including data, information, and decision-support tools, and to build capacity and develop networks with early career researchers and young professionals. What was originally scheduled for March was postponed due to the pandemic and was organized as a virtual event. Running for the 6th (and final year), this year’s event focused on assessing financial risks associated with a hypothetical situation based on the projected increase in intensity, frequency, and duration of heatwaves on the economy of Melbourne in 2030-2050. Prior to the event, the science team was briefed by Dr Nick Wood, Director of Climate Policy Research Pty Ltd, who was the facilitator for the event on behalf of the Hub. Our role in this event was to help the teams by sharing our knowledge on how best to use climate data in their risk analyses. The facilitated interactive event ran across two days, with 7 teams of industry practitioners tasked with putting together a workflow and identifying data sources needed to assess the risks associated with projected heatwaves. Each team was given 3 hours (1.5 hours on each day) to come up with a workflow to assess the impact of future heatwaves. The science team comprised of four climate scientists and each of us worked with a team (or two) to help interpret climate data. The teams worked around two themes: people and power. Impact of extreme heat on human health Some of the issues discussed under health were the increase in morbidity and mortality due to increased heat stress, impact on labour productivity resulting in supply disruptions, a rise in crime/anti-social behaviour, riots and disorder due to increased anxiety or job loss, and the effects of urban heat islands. Hospitals’ capacity being exceeded is another issue and this was an instance where a parallel could be drawn with the Covid19 pandemic. Impact of extreme heat on power Under this theme the groups tried to assess the impact of extreme heat on the reliability of the electricity network. One of the issues that came up in the discussions was the resilience of the electricity supply grid under conditions of high demand for cooling and point failure of critical infrastructure. There is a higher demand for air conditioning during heatwaves, leading to high demands on power supply resulting in system failures. Heatwaves can disrupt power generation and distribution as well. Increased thermal expansion during heatwaves could lead to the sagging of powerlines resulting in transmission failure. Drafting a workplan such as what was done in the breakout rooms have the potential to help companies with business continuance plans, town planning, health care planning, emergency services, heat policies and workers’ compensation. Another point of discussion was the interdependency between the impact of extreme heat on human health and power. When power generation and transmission fail, the demand for cooling cannot be met, thereby increasing the heat stress on the population. If this is not accounted for in the risk analysis, the population would be locked in a vicious cycle of heat stress. Taking part in this event turned out to be a great experience for me. I enjoyed working with the actuaries and engineers and hearing their perspectives on analysing climate risks. I thought the event was successful in that it helped build relationships and understanding between the climate science community and industry, as they will increasingly need to work together. Through these events, the ESCC Hub strives to identify gaps in the current knowledge base. It was a friendly environment to communicate the utility of climate science to industry and it also gave me some insight into how industry could potentially use climate data to inform their operations. If this event had taken place in person as originally planned, there would have been greater scope for discussion and further networking among the participants. However, we made the most of the allotted time to discuss the issue at hand, with the flexibility of being in the comfort of our homes. When you are a PhD researcher, you often straddle on the border of being a student and a scientist. I tend to identify myself more with the former than the latter and that probably has something to do with my confidence issues. It was refreshing to be called a ‘climate scientist’ and I am happy I had this opportunity to interact with members of the industry and to share whatever knowledge I had with the teams I worked with. Shout out to Sonia Bluhm from the National Environment Science Program ESCC Hub for inviting me for this programme 😊
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorBudding climate scientist from Sri Lanka, currently pursuing a PhD on heatwaves, at the Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) at UNSW, Sydney. Believes in using effective science communication to bridge the gap between science and society :) Archives
June 2021
Categories |