Climate risk accountability in the spotlight

An urgent overhaul of company and institutional governance rules is needed if there is to be effective impact on climate change, Australian writer and comedian Craig Reucassel says.

“We still lack strong leadership from government, although we are starting to see some examples at state levels,” Mr Reucassel has outlined in an interview with Governance Institute.

“But at the federal level we remain laggards in the global move to net zero, not only putting off a target, but not putting nearly enough effort into the actions that are needed to get there.”

Best known for his satirical work with The Chaser and for his environmental series, The War on Waste, Craig is a key speaker at Governance Institute’s Public Sector Governance Forum to be held virtually, or face-to-face in South Australia, on October 22.

This year’s forum will focus on effective leadership around inclusion and accountability, providing attendees with updates and insights into the fast-changing public sector environment.

Tackling the topic of ‘Fighting for Planet A: risk, reward and reality’, Craig Reucassel will address accountability for climate risk in a private and professional capacity and whether incentives are required for real change to occur.

Despite some signs of leadership around climate change in the private and public sectors, Mr Reucassel says more cooperation and a shared goal is needed if Australia wants to make a real impact.

“We are at the point where we need all sectors of society working together to solve our climate change problem,” he says.

“At the moment we often seem to have the private sector split and parts of the public sector seeking delay.”

The findings of last month’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report called for a massive investment in climate change adaptation and planning as rising temperatures will drastically increase the frequency of climate-related hazardous events.

Craig says the findings left him frustrated as the window for action continued to shrink with the release of every new report and emissions continued to rise unabated, despite decades of effort.

“There are some businesses that are doing a lot to work towards net zero, but generally the policy settings are not there to assist them,” he says.

“On the other side there are still some key businesses who are pushing back against change and making it harder for those who seek to do the right thing.”

Craig Reucassel’s checklist: How organisations can do more to help solve the climate change problem:

• Assess your footprint first. Know how you are contributing to the problem.
• Start the journey to change. Set targets. Start with the easiest changes first, but plan for the more difficult ones.
• Bring your staff along on the journey – they will have the best ideas for your company as they know it best.
• Push for the government to assist your journey and where they refuse to, let it be known.

View the full program and line up of speakers for the Public Sector Governance Forum here.

In person (Adelaide) and virtual tickets for the Public Sector Governance Forum on Friday October 22, are available here.