February 18, 2026
How can we enable action on climate change adaptation?
For the past three years, the research project Enabling Best Practice Adaptation has been investigating how to enable positive climate change adaptation outcomes. Through literature reviews and case studies across Australia, the project has gained insight into the many overlapping factors that can affect adaptation, and how they manifest quite differently in different adaptation contexts. The research has demonstrated that federal, state and local actors all play an important role in enabling adaptation.
Join us as we reflect on the findings our research over the past three years and consider what it tells us about enabling adaptation in Australia. The webinar will focus on the regional climate partnerships in South Australia which have effectively helped drive forward adaptation work, and discuss how enabling factors have played an integral role. This is evident in many aspects, including in urban greening work which has been undertaken across Adelaide.
Join us online on Wednesday 4 March 2026, 1pm AEDT. Register here >
Tia is a human geographer with research interests in climate change adaptation, urban sustainability and development. Her professional work has focused on disaster response, humanitarian work and monitoring and evaluation.
She is currently a Research Fellow in Enabling Climate Change Adaptation at the University of Melbourne, exploring examples of adaptation planning and practice undertaken in Australia to understand what enables best practice’ adaptation. Tia has also conducted research analysing the distribution of urban greening against key socio-economic factors, to better understand inequalities in urban development. Previously, her professional work has included impact evaluation for social enterprise and international disaster response. Tia is also a PhD candidate investigating monitoring and evaluation practices for climate change adaptation.
Andrew Nesbitt is an experienced public sector leader working at the intersection of climate, environment and community resilience. Currently with the Local Government Association of South Australia, he specialises in translating climate policy into practical, place-based action through strong partnerships, facilitation and organisational change. With a background in environmental science and sustainable agriculture, Andrew combines technical expertise with systems thinking to support collaborative responses to complex environmental challenges. Andrew is a Fellow of the Governor’s Leadership Foundation (2013) and is passionate about strengthening capability across government and community to build climate-ready regions.
Jen St Jack is a climate action specialist supporting governments across climate change, environment, water and biodiversity. She works at the intersection of climate risk, governance and regional collaboration, translating complex science, policy and emerging climate risk disclosures into practical, place-based action. Jen focuses on enabling coordinated climate action through strong relationships, shared frameworks and clear strategy. A skilled facilitator and systems thinker, she is known for cutting through complexity and connecting networks to deliver lasting results. Jen combines strategic insight with collaborative leadership to embed climate risk into decision-making and strengthen organisational capability. She is passionate about building climate-ready alliances that accelerate resilience.
