Australia Awards South and West Asia

Australia Awards scholars from South Asia and Mongolia recently gathered ahead of World Environment Day 2024 to hear about Australia’s climate priorities and share their perspectives.

At an event on 4 June, Dr David Dutton, Assistant Secretary of the Climate and Environmental Diplomacy Branch at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, provided an overview of Australia’s domestic climate policies and international ambitions.

He noted that the climate crisis and the response to it have become issues of first order importance in the global international agenda. “The consequences of a changing climate are of profound importance to the welfare, the stability and the resilience of all countries,” he said. “As our Foreign Minister often says, the impacts of climate change are often felt most by those countries which did the least to contribute to the problem in the first place and have the least capacity to adapt to it and to manage it. That’s a really important part of our outlook.”

Dr Dutton outlined Australia’s legislated targets for emissions: a reduction of 43% by 2030 and reaching net zero emissions by 2050. Australia’s ambition is to become a global renewable energy superpower, and to be indispensable in the global transition to a low carbon future. The federal budget released in May 2024 has a new $22 billion package of initiatives to maximise the economic benefits of a move to net zero, focused on areas of Australia’s comparative advantage, including renewable hydrogen, the processing of critical minerals and the production of green metals.

Dr David Dutton delivering remarks at an earlier Australia Awards event in Brisbane.

On Australia’s international climate policy, Dr Dutton highlighted that the climate crisis could only be addressed through collective action. Australia aspires to bring leadership and ambition to the global climate agenda and is establishing new partnerships to mobilise technology and investment. The government seeks to make a contribution to help countries in the Asia Pacific embark on a path to a zero emissions future, and is mobilising climate finance to assist developing countries with this.

Dr Dutton concluded his remarks by saying, “I hope that as you all take forward your own careers from your studies here in Australia, you can make contributions to this enormous challenge that we face globally.”

Following his presentation, Dr Dutton answered questions from scholars about the transition away from fossil fuels, the use of data in climate policy and Australia’s policy on waste.

Three scholars then shared their own experience of developing their expertise on climate change and sustainability through their studies and experiences in Australia.

Nikita Pradhan, a scholar from Nepal undertaking a Master of Environment at the Australian National University (ANU), delivered a presentation on two environment-focused internships she has undertaken.

Scholar Nikita Pradhan from Nepal.

The first was with the Murray Darling Basin Authority’s Riverine Ecology team, researching the recovery of native fish and ecological systems within the Murray Darling basin. The second was with the Disaster Solutions Team at the ANU’s Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions, investigating whether nature-based solutions were having an impact in protecting urban areas from flooding.

Mongolian scholar Sunder Erdenekhuyag, currently studying a Master of Environment and Sustainability at Monash University, provided an overview of her own internship with the United Nations Global Compact Network Australia. During her internship, Sunder assisted companies to establish actions to address climate change and helped arrange a conference of leaders to discuss the role of businesses in driving positive change. Sunder also contributed to a blog post from the Forward Faster Forum, a platform to address challenges and inspire action towards sustainable progress.

“Reflecting on my academic study and internship, I’ve gained valuable insights which have provided a clear roadmap for my personal and professional development,” Sunder said. “So my goal is to integrate sustainability into real world projects, consider indigenous knowledge and implement national strategies to achieve sustainable development goals in my home country.”

Mongolian scholar Sunder Erdenekhuyag.

Finally, Khokon Suiten Murmu, a scholar from Bangladesh pursuing a Master of Environmental Management and Sustainability at Flinders University, shared his knowledge and experience of indigenous environmental management while reflecting on the World Environment Day 2024 theme of ‘Our land. Our future. We are #GenerationRestoration.’

Khokon belongs to the Santal, one of the more than 50 different indigenous communities in Bangladesh. He highlighted how indigenous people had developed a knowledge of how to manage ecosystems in balance over centuries, but often faced a struggle to maintain these in the face of Western knowledge management systems. Khokon shared that he had spoken with a number of Kaurna and Ngarrindjeri elders in South Australia who shared similar perspectives on land management to the indigenous peoples of Bangladesh.

Scholar Khokon Suiten Murmu from Bangladesh.

Khokon noted that he had learnt that environmental impact assessments or similar processes should require meaningful participation and consultation with indigenous people, including by acknowledging the language and culture of the people being consulted.

Some of the assembled scholars during the online session.

All told, the event was an excellent opportunity for attendees not only to learn about Australia’s climate policies but also to be inspired by the climate actions that their fellow scholars are already undertaking. These Australia Awards beneficiaries truly are #GenerationRestoration.