Past Events

Presenter: Jan Scheurer
Date: Thursday 23rd June
Time: 11:30
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

This seminar will provide an update on the presenter's ongoing work to refine the quantification and visualisation of spatial accessibility, public transport performance and land use-transport integration in cities. A recently completed consultancy research project assessed a host of improvement scenarios for public transport in Melbourne and was used to inform the City of Melbourne's new transport strategy, which is currently out for community consultation. An ARC Discovery project is taking SNAMUTS to 25 cities worldwide over the next 3 years and raises a range of new questions on how to employ the tool most effectively to facilitate sustainability outcomes in the planning and design field. A recent case study from Hamburg, to be presented at the World Planning Schools Congress in Perth next month, will illustrate this context.

The presentation also forms part of the Urban Design for Sustainability intensive course being held at CUSP from 20-24 June.

Dr Jan Scheurer is Senior Lecturer at CUSP, Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University (AHURI) and Senior Research Associate at Curtin University's School of the Built Environment. After completing his PhD in City Policy at ISTP (Murdoch University) in 2001, Jan has been involved in a range of research projects on sustainable urban form, transport policy, accessibility and pedestrian-oriented design. He has been teaching in transport and design-related subjects at ISTP, CUSP and in RMIT's Landscape Architecture and Environment and Planning programs.

Presenter: Ben Rose
Date: Thursday 16th June
Time: 11:30
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Biomass has been underestimated as a future renewable energy source for Australia. It already provides 5% of energy needs, mainly through wood burning heaters and also combined heat and power stations using bagasse waste from sugar mills; significant plantation waste resources have yet to be utilized.

With the introduction of a carbon price, growing biomass solely as an energy source will soon become viable. Woody coppice crops such as oil mallees have the most potential. Ten percent of dry land agricultural areas used in this way could produce at least 4% of our electricity, plus biochar and other energy products. CO2 reductions equivalent to 25% of agricultural emissions could be achieved. 

WA has the greatest potential for this industry. It also has the greatest need for perennial crops to arrest the spread of salinity and soil erosion. The common native species York gum is one of the oil mallees ideally suited for this purpose.

There are several biomass industries with great potential. All involve pyrolysis - 'cooking' of the biomass rather than burning it. Gaseous ('syngas') liquid and solid energy products are produced by pyrolysis. The  heat released can be used to produce electricity on site and also other products such as solid fuels pellets and eucalyptus oils. Perhaps the most exciting prospect is producing methane form the syngas and injecting it into the gas pipeline network where it can be distributed for  'tri-generation' - combined heat and power - in cities and industries. 

Ben Rose is a contributing author of 'The Biochar Revolution', is a carbon sequestration assessor, has worked in natural resource management in WA including agroforestry and salinity management for 14 years and has a website www.ghgenergycalc.com.au with a downloadable carbon footprint calculator.

Presenter: Peter Love
Date: Thursday, 9th June
Time: 11:30
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Infrastructure projects regularly experience cost and schedule overruns. Research led by Flyvbjerg has suggested that misrepresentation and optimism bias are primary causes for overruns. While Flyvbjerg’s research has made a significant contribution to ameliorating understanding as to why economic infrastructure projects experience overruns, it does not adequately explain why this is the case for such social infrastructure. In addressing this shortcoming, case studies are used to determine the intermediary events and actions that contributed to project cost overruns. The pathogens, events and actions that contributed overruns are identified and analysed. The analysis of the cases findings led to the propagation of nomological framework for social infrastructure project overruns. Acknowledgment of the systemic pathogenic influences has enabled the establishment of an orthodoxy, which provides an impetus for addressing the issues needed to improve the performance of social infrastructure projects.

Professor Peter Love is a Fellow of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (FRICS). He is the recipient of 2010 Scopus Young Australian Researcher of the Year Award (Humanities and Social Science) and a member of the Australian Research Council’s Engineering and Environmental Science Panel for the 2010 Excellence in Australian Research Exercise. Professor Love is Adjunct Professor of Bond University, and a Visiting Professor to Brunel Business School, Brunel University in the UK. He retains close links with industry, and serves on several government-working committees. He has a wide range of industry experience, which he gained in the UK and Australia working as consultant project manager and a commercial manager for a multi-national construction and engineering organization. Professor Love has been a recipient of research grants from the Australian Research Council (ARC), Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Research Grants Council (RGC) in Hong Kong.

Janet F. Bornman
Haydn Williams Fellow, Curtin University

Presenter: Janet Bornman
Date: Thursday , June 2nd
Time: 11:30
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Military projects have used climate engineering as far back as the 1830s, and as such it is not a new concept. However, the present day space-age technology can now offer a wide range of options for large-scale manipulation of the environment to counteract the warming of the Earth. This has mostly come about because of the lack of confidence in global and national agreements to effectively cut greenhouse gas emissions for an effect to occur in the short- to medium-term. Reducing emissions is not an easy task, given that many greenhouse gases have long lifetimes, and therefore cutting of emissions will not be reflected in an immediate outcome. As a result engineers and researchers are exploring alternative ways to cool the atmosphere. Many of the proposed geo-engineering manipulations are strongly controversial as their tradeoffs and spinoff effects are debated.

This presentation will take a look at some of the options and challenges for managing solar radiation and removing carbon dioxide, highlighting the effectiveness, economic implications, as well as the legal and ethical aspects that must be considered. Should we seriously contemplate climate intervention to halt global warming in the short-term and thus buy time to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions?

Janet Bornman did her PhD thesis on the "Effect of ultraviolet radiation in higher plants" at Lund University in Sweden, where she later became Professor. The main focus of her research has been on the interactions of different climate change drivers on plants, and through her work for the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP), these interactive effects from climate change have been extended to other disciplines. Janet also chairs the UNEP Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, and recently received the Ozone Layer Protection Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. After some 20 years in Sweden, she moved to Denmark as Research Director at the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences before moving to New Zealand to the University of Waikato. Janet is currently a member of the ‘European Cooperation in Science and Technology‘ programme for the project on UV radiation as a regulator of plant growth and food quality in a changing climate.

Presenter: Professor Mal Bryce
Date: Thursday, May 26th
Time: 11:30am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

The National Broadband Network is the biggest infrastructure project in the current era. It is highly politicised and controversial. Professor Bryce will seek to throw some light on the great furphies and distractions which are circulating. As a long term proponent of the smart society, Professor Bryce will show the importance of bandwidth for the new economy, including its relevance to sustainability issues.

Professor Mal Bryce is the former Deputy Premier of WA and is an Adjunct at CUSP.

For most of his working life Mal has been engaged in developing companies, communities and public policy to harness the power of new technology. In the last 30 years Mal has worked as a cabinet minister, company director, corporate manager and senior consultant. Throughout the 1990s he was a leading Australian pioneer in the development of the Internet industry and the application of the Internet to business, government agencies and communities. He was the architect of Australia's first online community in Ipswich and he led the team that implemented one of Australia's first eCommerce Projects. After a lifetime of involvement with the ICT Revolution and innovation, Mal is a passionate supporter of the program for a National Broadband Network. He was admitted as a Foundation Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in 1990. He is Chairman of iVEC, Chairman of the Pawsey Supercomputer Project, a Senior Associate of the Australian Centre for Innovation (Sydney), a Keynote Speaker with Saxton Speakers Bureau, and a member of the Australian eResearch Infrastructure Council. His new book is called Australia’s First Online Community.
Download a copy of Mal Bryce's presentation at this link

Presenter: Len Collard
Date: Thursday 19th May
Time: 11:30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle          

Nyungar language in placenames of the south West of Australia are commonly used, however the story of their creation is yet to be fully comprehended. Nyungar language is the basis of geographical nomenclature for many town names however comprehensive critical research and analysis is needed for interpretation. The presentation in the form of a power point paper presentation examines the contribution of local Nyungar peoples in association with settlers and explorers in the recording of this regional phenomena.
 
Associate Professor Len Collard is an Australian Research Fellow–Indigenous at the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. He has a background in literature and communications and his research interests are in the area of Aboriginal studies, including Nyungar interpretive histories and Nyungar theoretical and practical research models. His has conducted research for the Australian Research Council, the National Trust of Western Australia, the Western Australian Catholic Schools and the Swan River Trust. His research has allowed broadening the understanding of the many unique characteristics of Aboriginal people and improving the appreciation of Aboriginal culture and heritage of the Southwest of Australia. Len’s groundbreaking theoretical work has put Nyungar cultural research on the national stage.

Presenter: Dr. Odile Pouliquen-Young and Nathan Sadler
Date: Thursday, 5th May 2011
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

The presentation is about providing some facts as to the size of Curtin University's environmental footprint and present the Greencampus concept. Greencampus was created to support areas such as CUSP initiate or participate in environmental initiatives to assist the whole University reduce its environmental impacts.

About the presenters:

Odile was one of the inaugural PhD students of the ISTP. She later led a 3-year research project on the impacts of climate change on WA fauna and flora. She has taught Environmental Sciences at TAFE for several years. Odile is now the Environmental Officer for Curtin University. Her role is to assist the University reduce its environmental footprint, ensure compliance to environmental legislation and embed environmental sustainability within Curtin's processes.

Nathan is an unashamed "generalist" and sees his role as trying to very gently (well not always that gently) coax Curtin staff into learning about the broader concepts of sustainability. It is his belief and wish that sustainability needs to be regarded as "normal" and the more people that understand the issues the more likely it is for that to occur and for sensible thoughtful long lasting changes to occur.

Broadcaster James Lush will MC the evening. Following Allan’s presentation there will be a panel discussion.

Panellists:
Prof Peter Newman, Head of Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute
Prof Paul Hardisty, Global Director of EcoNomics™ and Sustainability,
Worley Parsons
Doug Aberle
Managing Director Western Power

Date:
Monday 18 April 2011

Time:
5.30pm for a 5.45pm start
7.30pm finish

Venue:
Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre
Level 2 River View Room 4
21 Mounts Bay Road Perth

How can we decarbonise and decentralise our electricity grid? Come along and discuss this with international expert Allan Jones and a panel of Western Australian professionals in this field including:

Senator Scott Ludlam Australian Greens Party
Mayor Brad Pettitt City of Fremantle
Professor Peter Newman Director, Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute
Phil Livingston Founder, Sungrid
and Prof Ray Wills Chief Executive, Sustainable Energy Association

DATE: Tuesday, April 19
TIME: 5:30 pm
VENUE: Fremantle Town Hall,
8 William St, Fremantle
COST: Free
RSVP: By April 15
events@fremantle.wa.gov.au or 9432 9945

Presenter: Dr Benjamin Preston
Date: Thursday, 14 April 2011
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract

Vulnerability to climate variability and change is geographically specific in that it is dependent on the local environmental, socioeconomic, and institutional context. Traditional assessments of climate vulnerability often account for potential changes in the climate and associated natural hazards. Yet socioeconomic systems are highly dynamic in themselves, and thus understanding future vulnerability necessitates understanding such dynamics and their implications for climate adaptation.  For example, future population growth and economic development will increase socioeconomic exposure to climate extremes while putting increased pressure on those natural resources upon which societal and ecological systems depend. This suggests a societal commitment to future vulnerability.

At the same time, however, such socioeconomic change can enhance the adaptive capacity of communities and institutions to manage climate risk and thereby reduce vulnerability. These issues are explored in the United States through temporally dynamic metrics of socioeconomic exposure for U.S. local governments. In addition to revealing geographic areas associated with disproportionate rates of socioeconomic change, and therefore demand for adaptation, these metrics were used to explore how tropical cyclone damages in coastal communities are likely to scale with future changes in exposure. Given the apparent inertia of the U.S. socioeconomic landscape, reducing the rate of growth in future vulnerability will be dependent upon transformative adaptation policies and measures that systematically divert future development away from at-risk areas and/or substantially reduce the vulnerability of the built environment in situ. However, societal and institutional phenomena such as the discounting of future losses may act as barriers to such transformational change. 

About the Presenter

Benjamin Preston is the Theme Leader for Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability Science within the Climate Change Science Institute of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in the United States. Preston joined ORNL from Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) where he was a Research Scientist with the Division of Marine and Atmospheric Research and the CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship.

In recent years, his research has focused on the assessment of climate change vulnerability and risk and its application in adaptation planning. His research in Australia was recognized with the 2009 Australia Museum Eureka Prize for Innovative Solutions to Climate Change, the 2009 New South Wales Coastal Award for Innovation, and the 2009 Victorian Coastal Council Award for Innovation.  Prior to his tenure with the CSIRO, he was a Senior Research Fellow with the Pew Center on Global Climate Change in Washington, DC, USA, where he provided technical advice on climate change science and impacts to policy makers, the media and the general public. 

Preston is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Geophysical Union, and the American Meteorological Society.  He has contributed dozens of publications to the scientific literature on climate change impacts, adaptation and environmental assessment, and he has served as an expert peer-reviewer for a broad range of academic journals in the environmental sciences.  He currently serves as a Coordinating Lead Author for Working Group II of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Fifth Assessment Report.

Presenters: Vanessa Rauland, Samantha Hall & Peter Tickler
Date: Thursday 26th August 2010
Time: 11.30am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute is decarbonising their office in Fremantle. Every business and individual has a role to play when it comes to reducing emissions. CUSP recognises that we, as practitioners and advocates of sustainability, should be leading the way and showing what can be done to lower the carbon footprint of workplaces. We have recently undertaken a carbon audit, which has helped to identify CUSP’s main emission sources. With this information, we are now looking to develop various strategies that can be implemented within our building and operations to reduce our carbon footprint. We are setting up a green management team to help facilitate the strategies and drive the reduction. Having to deal with issues of split incentives (owner/occupier issues regarding retrofitting), CUSP will be focusing on the significant reduction opportunities resulting from behaviour change. One of the first measures CUSP will be implementing is a live energy monitoring system that will be displayed at the entrance of the building. This will help to educate and increase staff and students awareness of the impact of their electricity consumption, what this translates to in carbon emissions, as well as costs for our institute.

During this informal seminar, we will briefly run through the results of the carbon audit, discuss some ideas for how we can reduce our overall resource consumption (including waste, paper, water) and finish with a demonstration of the new energy monitoring equipment - its capabilities and how it can assist in and promote behaviour change.

About the Presenters

• Vanessa Rauland is coordinating an ARC Project CUSP on ‘Decarbonising Cities and Regions’ and writing her PhD around Carbon Neutral Land Development;
• Sam Hall is studying her Masters in Sustainability Management through Curtin’s Centre for Cleaner Production and CUSP and undertook CUSP’s carbon audit;
• Peter Tickler is a Director at Greensense, a Perth based climate change consultancy specialising in stakeholder engagement and behaviour change and is supplying and managing the energy monitoring equipment and software.

Presenter: Charlie Hargroves
Date: Thursday, 19 August 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Charlie Hargroves, co-founder of The Natural Edge Project and new adjunct member of the CUSP team, will provide an overview of his numerous achievements and publications that he intends to draw on in his new role to assist Professor Newman and the CUSP team in the development, management, and delivery of a series of upcoming projects. Charlie is a civil engineering graduate from Adelaide University and co-founded ‘The Natural Edge Project’ (TNEP) as an Australian based, non-profit, Sustainability Think-Tank in 2002. Including a 12 month visiting scholar position to the University of Colorado, Boulder, since 2002 Charlie has been the Chief Investigator on over 1.7 million dollars of research grants and achieved an average of 3.5 HERDC points per year. Charlie is also currently completing his PhD under the supervision of Professor Newman in the area of sustainable development policy and economic development. Charlie has worked with or has been mentored by a number of internationally renowned experts in the field of sustainable development, including Alan AtKisson, Amory Lovins, Ernst von Weizsäcker, Gro Brundtland, Lester Brown, Leo Jensen, Peter Newman, R. K. Pachauri, and William McDonough. The TNEP flagship collaborative 2005 book, ‘The Natural Advantage of Nations: Business Opportunities, Innovation and Governance in the 21st Century’ (Earthscan), was awarded the Australian Banksia Award for Environmental Leadership, Education and Training. Building on this work Charlie has led the TNEP team to deliver a series of international books and publications, including, 'Whole System Design: An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Engineering' (Earthscan 2008), 'Energy Transformed: Sustainable Energy Solutions for Climate Change Mitigation', the update of ‘Factor 4’ co-authored with Ernst von Weizsäcker, and a response to the Brundtland Commission’s report ‘Our Common Future’.

Presenter: Carolyn Hofmeester
Date: Thursday, 24th June 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
Economic and administrative rationalism tends to dominate public policy and governance approaches on climate change with an emphasis on market-based solutions and expert-based scientific, technological and managerial problem solving. It has become evident however, that reliance on these discourses is not sufficient to address the highly complex problem of climate change. Climate change has become as much a social/behavioral phenomena as a biophysical one. This seminar will present research that is being undertaken within the CSIRO Coastal Collaboration Cluster aimed at building the capacity of coastal governance to respond to climate change. Drawing on social constructionist ideas about relational practices and social learning coupled with an innovative Causal Layered Analysis method, this research seeks to develop a more reflexive and relational governance system that has the capacity to act decisively and collaboratively on climate change.

About the presenter
Carolyn is completing a PhD through the School of Psychology Curtin University and is a member of the Governance research team within the Coastal Collaboration Cluster, headed by Assoc Prof Laura Stocker. Carolyn has over 15 years working with government on public policy, planning and governance in areas as diverse as Indigenous affairs, justice, transport, public works, housing and science and innovation. For the past three years, she has concentrated on climate change policy research including a period of time with the Conservation Council of WA.

When: Thursday 27 May 2010
Where: Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, Fremantle
Registration: Free

This one-day course (9.00 am to 4.00 pm) offers land-use planners and sustainability and industry practioneers from a full suite of disciplines (environment, tourism, mining, agriculture, forestry, energy, transport, residential development, wildlife managers, fire and emergency services, etc.) an opportunity to learn about ALCES III, A Landscape Cumulative Effects Simulator.

ALCES® is a landscape simulator that enables resource managers, society, and the scientific community to visualise and quantify historic and future changes in regional landscapes subjected to multiple land-use practices and various natural disturbance regimes. ALCES allows managers to take into account cumulative impacts at regional scales of various projects and development proposals.

ALCES assists resource managers in identifying strategic-level environmental and industrial challenges associated with overlapping uses and resource management objectives and in discovering mitigation strategies for issues related to flows of natural resources. Although ALCES can be run for relatively small landscapes of thousands of hectares, it is best suited to large regional landscapes of millions of hectares. Additional information about ALCES III is available at http://www.alces.ca.

Who should attend?
This workshop is intended for sustainability practioneers, seeking to integrate environmental, economic and social aspects of regional planning and development using the latest techniques in modelling and cumulative impact assessment.

Workshop facilitation and coordination
The workshop will be facilitated by Dr Brad Stelfox, principal of ALCES Landuse and Landscape Ltd. and coordinated in Australia by Dr Jean-Paul Orsini, University Associate at CUSP.

For more information, please call Jean-Paul on 0405 006 720.

Presenter: Dinny Laurence
Date: Thursday, 22nd April 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
Khayelitsha (meaning "our new home") is a sprawling shanty town built on the Cape Flats, with a population of about 2 million people. It is surrounded by places of great beauty: to the West, the iconic trio of Table Mountain, Devil's Peak and Lion's Head beckon one to elegant and prosperous Cape Town, and to the South a magnificent if somewhat treacherous coast line stretches in both directions as far as the eye can see.

To the West To the South
In the mountains to the North are historic towns and many vineyards, or you can head East along the Garden Route to the seaside resorts of Hermanus and Plettenberg Bay. But the Cape Flats are inhospitable. Once submerged by sea, the country is as flat as the name suggests, and sandy and infertile. There is no natural protection from the driving rain in winter, or from the extreme heat in the summer, when the relentless South Easter sometimes blows for weeks on end.
In Khayelitsha life is a struggle. All the residents are poor, and many are destitute. The shacks provide inadequate shelter from the elements, crime is rife, unemployment high and poor health endemic, particularly AIDS and gastric illness because of the bad sanitation. The local economy is not well established, so most of those who have work must travel for hours - either by train or minibus, both of which are unreliable and dangerous - to their jobs in the city.
Sustainability is not a concept that is well understood by the people of Khayelitsha; the driving force of life there is survival. But in the midst of this hopelessness there are pockets of hope, and the Indlovu Project is one of those.

This talk is about Indlovu, which means "elephant", or metaphorically, "wisdom" or "strength". It is about the eco-village that was built, and destroyed, and is being re-built; about its successes and failures, the political and practical problems that trouble it, and both the resilience and destructiveness of its people. It is an unfinished story, and no-one yet knows how it will end.

About the presenter
I grew up in South Africa.

After doing a BA in English at the University of Cape Town I went to Besancon in France for four months and then travelled extensively in Canada and the USA. I finally got to London where I did a post graduate certificate of education, followed by an MA in English at York University in Toronto.
Once back in London I taught (briefly) at a boys' comprehensive school in Croydon. This small taste of the "blackboard jungle" I found so terrifying that I retreated to the safety of the law, qualifying as a solicitor in 1976.

In 1980 I went back to South Africa where I worked as company secretary and in-house counsel to an oil and mining company. After four years, since there was no sign of a change in government or abatement in apartheid, I decided to return to London. This time I went overland through Africa in a Bedford truck. We had many breakdowns and many adventures, including climbing Kilimanjaro which I rate as my greatest achievement.

In London I was again company secretary and in-house counsel to an oil and gas conglomerate, Baker Hughes Limited, until a combination of the English weather and too many hours spent commuting drove me to seek an alternative. My son Joe and I arrived in Perth in 1988 and live here still. I have a partner, Kerry, and four step-daughters.

After twenty years, first in private practice with Freehills and then in-house with the National Bank, I finally saw the light and took off in a new direction. I am proud to be among CUSP's first intake of students in 2008, and to have completed a graduate diploma in Sustainability Studies in May last year. In June I again went back to South Africa, where I worked for five months as a volunteer with the Indlovu community and housing project in a shanty town near Cape Town. That project is the subject of my talk today.

Presenter: Vanessa Rauland
Date: Thursday, 1st April 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
The UN Climate Change Conference held in Copenhagen in December last year (COP15) was larger than any of the previous 14 climate conferences, with an estimated 45,000 registered participants. Vanessa Rauland, a researcher at CUSP, attended the summit and will be sharing her firsthand experience on the event. She will attempt to shed some light on the UN climate change negotiations process, including the role of ‘side events'- with a particular focus on the built environment, as well as discussing what role the UN negotiations process may play in the future.

About the presenter
Vanessa Rauland joined CUSP in 2009 as Project Coordinator for an ARC funded Linkage Grant on Decarbonising Cities and Regions. She is also undertaking her PhD as part of the project, in the area of Carbon Neutral Land Development. She has a BA in Nature Tourism from La Trobe University and a MSc in Environment and Resource Management from the Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam, with specialisations in energy and carbon management, particularly as it relates to policy. Prior to joining CUSP, Vanessa spent four years in Europe working and studying in the areas of climate change, sustainable transport and carbon management. She is particularly interested in renewable energy, energy efficiency, the built environment and emissions trading and how these areas can help to address climate change.

Presenter: Emeritus Professor Reg Appleyard
Date: Thursday, 11th March 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

About the presenter
Emeritus Professor Reg Appleyard AM, BA(hons) UWA, MA, PhD (Duke), Hon.
DLitt. (Curtin), FASSA.

Hon. Senior Research Fellow, Business School, The University of Western Australia.

Main field of research is economic demography, with emphasis on the economics of international migration and the economic history of Australia.
He is immediate past-President of the Royal Western Australian Historical Society Inc. and currently President of the UWA Historical Society.
He is currently writing up the final phase of a longitudinal study on the adaptation of Greece-born women in Australia.

Appleyard has authored/co-authored 10 books, edited/co-edited 14 books and written over 100 articles/chapters and 20 reports for governments.

Presenter: Professor Peter Newman
Date: Thursday, 25 Feb 2010
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
Masdar, the carbon-free city in UAE, is being built and I will report back on my impressions of this brave experiment, what it can teach us and what seems to be not so relevant. Dubai Rail was a real surprise and shows what money can do when directed to common good transport... Then Singapore for nearly a month where I taught a Sustainable Cities course to 27 post grads from across Asia. Singapore has a number of impressive programs that fit the Resilient City ‘seven characteristics'. These will be illustrated before discussing how CUSP could play an important part in teaching sustainable planning and urban management in this high density city which is becoming the model for much of Asia.

About the presenter
As one of Australia's leading academics and planners, Professor Newman heads a team of more than 20 top staff and researchers that make up the Curtin Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. Professor Newman developed the State Sustainability Strategy 2001-2003, and coined the term "automobile dependence" to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For more than 30 years he has been warning cities about preparing for 'peak oil' and in Perth, Peter is known for his work in saving, rebuilding and extending the rail system which is now considered a global model.

Presenter: Tony Kevin
Date: Wednesday 11th November 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Topic: Integrated infrastructure planning - shaping the cities of the future

Presenter: Jeremy Blackwell
Date: Thursday, 5th November 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
As Client Relationship Executive responsible for the Community Development market in Queensland and Australia-Pacific champion of the State and Local Government market sector, Jeremy will provide insights into his market strategy (which is being developed). This will include client and market observations, including the shift towards integrated metropolitan and infrastructure planning and the opportunities to deliver integrated strategic solutions to shape the cities of the future.

About the presenter
Jeremy is PB's Client Relationship Executive for the Community Development market area in Queensland and the Australia-Pacific Champion for the State and Local Government market sector. He is responsible for developing and implementing the market strategy and for the sales, pipeline and health of client relationships.
Jeremy has extensive experience in strategic, urban and development planning; environmental assessment and approvals; project management; commercial management; client relationship management; and business development. He has worked across Queensland and New South Wales in various roles, including Manager of PB's Sunshine Coast office and Queensland Business Development Executive.
Under PB's international accreditation, he is recognised as a:

• Senior Project Manager
• Professional Associate - Urban Planning
  
• Business Development Associate

Presenter: Hans Mönninghoff
Date: Thursday, 22nd October 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute, 3 Pakenham St Fremantle
Come along to CUSP to hear Hans Mönninghoff discuss Hannover's reduction of its greenhouse emissions.

Under Han's leadership, initially as Director, Environmental Services, Hannover has easily achieved the Kyoto target reduction below 1990 levels, and now is aiming for 40% below 1990 levels by 2020, with further more significant reductions in the years following. This is in an environment of economic growth, and is the world's largest Messestadt (Fair/Convention City). Additionally, the city of Hannover is consistently rated as having one of the highest quality of life indices in Germany. Hannover also has the world's most successful holistic sustainable model community - Kronsberg, which was completed over ten years ago, and has achieved a 78% reduction in CO2 (amongst many other sustainability goals). It is seen as one of the most successful examples of sustainable development in the world, definitely in Europe. Every day there are visiting parties from all over the world inspecting this development, and learning from it.

About the presenter
Literal translation of Hans' position is First Senior Council Advisor. Technically Hans is the equivalent of an administrative CEO of a Council, as he is the head of administration (as well as Director of two departments) under the Lord Mayor, who is titled as the CEO, but the German political system names its positions differently to Australia. Hans is one of the very best in German Local Government, and it is said that no one else holds as many key positions as he does. He is also the only German Green to hold an Economic (Wirtschafts) Portfolio. Unlike in the Australian system, head bureaucratic positions are also political in nature. Hans founded the City's Climate Action Program, ProKlima, which has been instrumental in making Hannover an international leader in urban responses to climate change.
Hans Mönninghoff's visit to Australia is co-sponsored by the Goethe Institute and proudly supported by the German Consul-General and the German-Australia Chamber of Commerce.

Presenter: Richard Swan
Date: Thursday, 15th October 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
HotRock is a WA based charity that is helping high schools to develop whole school Sustainability Programs. HotRock is doing this by providing consultation, funding, teaching resources and workshops to high schools that want to make Sustainability Education a priority within their curriculum. HotRock is investing in high schools by providing funding for the creation of learning tools (such as organic food gardens, shadehouses and recycling programs), with the intention of using these hands-on learning activities to stimulate student-centred learning of more abstract Sustainability concepts in the classroom. The goals are to promote awareness of the consequences of our daily consumption choices, empower school communities to take action within themselves and the environment, raise awareness of the Sustainability challenges that are facing us and how we can work together to start healing our Earth (and ourselves).

About the presenter
Richard Swan is the co-founder of the HotRock organisation. Richard was teaching Science and Maths at Australind Senior High School before the birth of HotRock. His passion for the environment grew out his coming of age experiences in the mountains of South Africa and the oceans of the world. Richard lives in Dunsborough with his wife and three daughters.

Presenter: Kai Wuthenow
Date: Wednesday 17th September 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

The Green Loans Program is part of the Federal Government's energy efficient homes stimulus package (http://www.environment.gov.au/greenloans/). It pays for professionally trained and accredited Home Sustainability Assessors to visit 360,000 Australian Homes and conduct a Home Sustainability Assessment. This assessment enables these households to apply for a Green Loan, which is an interest free loan of up to $10,000 which is used towards the implementation of bigger tick items which were found to be necessary during the home assessment.

EcoSmart was one of the first 5 training providers who were asked to conduct the training for the Home Sustainability Assessment Scheme (http://www.absa.net.au/) which is the required training for assessors of the Green Loans Scheme. EcoSmart has since trained almost 200 assessors. Out of those, over 20 have joined EcoSmart and have started to do assessments as part of our team. Our goal is to be a leader in the field of providing household's with Sustainability Assessments and to help them towards reducing their carbon footprint.

Presenter: Dr Wendy Sarkissian
Date: Thursday, 3rd September 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract

A long-time supporter of sustainability, Wendy Sarkissian had the opportunity in 2007 and 2008 to co-direct a huge post-occupancy evaluation into resident satisfaction in Vancouver's massive downtown high-rise housing development. The study, funded by two prominent developers, the City of Vancouver and two planning firms (including Wendy's), was conducted by postgraduate planning students at the University of British Columbia. It canvassed many aspects of liveability in this high-profile urban TOD. Join Canadian-born Wendy Sarkissian for an illustrated lecture as she revisits her childhood home and reports on what makes high-rise housing liveable, what works and what doesn't work, based on in-depth interviews, observations, research with children, community engagement and a large self-complete questionnaire survey of residents.

About the presenter
Dr Wendy Sarkissian FPIA is passionate about our future: the future of work, of housing, of communities and of community engagement. She is committed to finding spirited ways to nurture and support an engaged citizenry. Her successful career as consultant and academic in Australia and overseas has provided firsthand knowledge of many contexts, from developers' boardrooms to low-income housing estates. Initially trained as an educator, she holds a Masters of Arts in literature, a Master of Town Planning and a PhD in environmental ethics.

She has worked as a social planning consultant since 1981.

Building a career as a social planning consultant when there was no such discipline, she has pioneered innovative planning and development approaches in an astonishing variety of contexts. This work has earned her forty professional awards. Widely regarded as a leader in her profession and acclaimed as a humorous and thought-provoking speaker, Wendy is an Adjunct Professor in the School of Sustainable Development, Bond University. From 2006 to 2008, she was Adjunct Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning, UBC and has taught in many Australian and overseas universities.

Wendy is a Fellow of the Planning Institute of Australia and has expertise in corporate and social planning, housing planning and design, community engagement, public open space, user needs, including designing for children, older people and people with disability, social research, facilitation, and post-occupancy evaluation. She has wide experience in helping organisations develop strategic approaches to addressing complex problems.

Wendy lives in an intentional ecological community in Nimbin, New South Wales.

During 2008 and 2009, Wendy co-authored three books for Earthscan Publishers in London. The first, Kitchen Table Sustainability, Practical Recipes for Community Engagement with Sustainability, was published in December 2008. SpeakOut, a manual for designing and managing SpeakOuts and other community workshops, was released in April 2009. The third book on Creative Community Planning is in press and due for publication in early 2010.

Presenter: Charlie Thorn
Date: Thursday, 6th August 2009
Time: 11.30 am- 12.30 pm
Venue: CUSP, 3 Pakenham Street, Fremantle

About the presenter:
Mr. Thorn has over 28 years experience in research management, commercialisation and technology transfer in agriculture, fisheries and University research institutions.

He has held several executive positions in government in both the fisheries and agriculture sectors and more recently in the University sector including the Director Research and Innovation at Edith Cowan University and Associate Director Research and Development at Curtin University of Technology.

He is currently the Director of the Australian Sustainable Development Institute (ASDI) at Curtin University of Technology. The role of the Director is to lead, develop and grow the University's sustainability research in the areas of energy, climate change, water, sustainable resources, urban and regional development, sustainable communities and food.

Mr. Thorn has held several board positions on CRC's and regulatory authorities. He is currently a board member of the Western Australian Marine Science Institution and Digital Ecosystems and Business Intelligence Institute.

On Friday 24 July 2009, the Australian Sustainable Development Institute and the Curtin University Sustainability Policy Institute hosted t a free public climate change adaptation workshop designed to promote community input to the climate change adaptation planning process for Fremantle. Download flyer [.pdf - 1.01MB]
Please view the presentations here.

Coastal Development - Adele Carles Presentation [.pdf - 1.68MB]
Fremantle Climate Change Adaptation Workshop - Charles Johnson [.pdf - 474kb]
Climate Change in Southwest WA - Glenn Cook [.ppt - 1.13MB]
Jon Adaptation [.ppt - 1.19MB]
Coastal adaptation to climate change: sustainability and good practice - Laura Stocker [.pdf - 2.64MB]
Climate change impacts on water resources in Western Australia - John Ruprecht [.pdf - 1.43MB]

Presenter: Laura Stocker
Date: Thursday, 28th May 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

About the presenter
Laura Stocker is an Associate Professor in Curtin University's Sustainability Policy Institute. She is a marine ecologist by training. Currently, she researches and teaches in the area of coastal sustainability, climate change policy, sustainability mapping, sustainability education, cultural values of place, and conceptual aspects of sustainability.

Abstract
There exists substantial lay, traditional and scientific evidence of climate change and its probable effects on the coast. However, policy-makers and planners have generally been slow to develop and implement strategies for climate change adaptation. These gaps in communicative engagement and implementation will lead to lack of resilience and to unsustainability in coastal communities as climate change effects such as sea level rise and saltwater intrusion take hold. Contemporary experience and theory suggest the need for greater reflexivity: the need to recognise how governance, knowledge systems and broader societal loops shape each other, and act on themselves; and the need to challenge the foundations of systems, find alternatives and change shapes. This seminar presents transition management as a possible approach. Transition management is long-term process during which a society or a subsystem of society fundamentally changes. It is based on continual learning using available evidence, and so is reflexive, iterative and adaptive; it is participatory; it utilises front-runners; it is oriented towards long-term sustainability goals and visions; it acknowledges societal normative concerns; and it changes the ways in which systems are organised.

Presenter: Satis Arnold
Date: Thursday, 21st May 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: CUSP Institute, 3 Pakenham Street, Fremantle

Evidence of accelerating climate changeandChallenges for the disciplines by Satis Arnold [.pdf - 3.20MB]

Abstract
The Copenhagen Climate Science Congress in March heard alarming new evidence that Climate change drivers and impacts are moving faster than reported in the last IPCC Assessment Report in 2007. Emissions are growing faster than ever before; projections of emissions growth to 2030 are greater than all previous forecasts. Observed and modelled impacts are also greater than previous forecasts; sea level rise could exceed a meter by 2100; warming could be rising above dangerous thresholds well before 2100, unless prompt action is taken on a global scale on many fronts.

The seminar will briefly explore the challenges for the world and opportunities for sustainability institutes. The Copenhagen UNFCCC COP15 meeting in December will reveal if the world's attempt since the Bali December 2007 Conference to limit warming since pre-industrial times to 2C has to any extent succeeded. Informed observers expect real results to take longer.

The climate system is biophysical with lag and lead times that lock in warming long after emissions are placed in the atmosphere. The planetary carbon cycle operates amongst vast sources and sinks that are sensitive to warming. These natural features of the planet give rise to great danger that achieving climate stability may no longer be possible by gradually reducing emissions.

As Nicholas Stern has warned consistently since his 2006 report, the longer the world takes to act, the harder and costlier the task will become. In response to these concerns, the seminar will consider the challenges and opportunities for engineering, science, economics, decision aiding, sustainability and policy.

About the presenter
Satis Arnold is a Director of the higher education and sustainability consulting firm Cambridge Partners, and an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at CUSP. He is a former Director of the Australian Sustainability Development Institute at Curtin University, Director Policy and Planning at Murdoch University, Senior Policy Adviser at the ANU, and Director Research Policy in the Higher Education Division of the Australian Department of Education and Science.

Presenter: Jiuchang Wei
Date: Thursday, 14th May 2009
Time: 11.30 am - 12.30 pm
Venue: CUSP, 3 Pakenham Street, Fremantle

Abstract
The county-level economy plays a vital role in the economic growth of China. There are a total of 2,070 county-level economic entities in China, which cover 95 percent of China's land area, support 74 percent of the population, and generate 60 percent of GDP and 24 percent of fiscal revenues. Most environmental challenges have their roots in local activities. In China, the county governments have the duty and incentive to keep the regional economic growth at a rapid level because of the performance assess from the state governments which emphasizes on the economic achievements.

In this study, we divide the communities into four groups, namely sustainable high-poverty communities, unsustainable high-poverty communities, sustainable low-poverty communities, and unsustainable low-poverty communities. We collected the data of 498 counties in 2000 and 2006 to analyze the comparison between sustainable communities and unsustainable communities, and determinants of the development pathways to sustainable communities. The variable means comparison between groups of the sustainable high-poverty communities and unsustainable high-poverty communities in 2006 represents that there is no significant difference on the dimensions of economy, society, and environment, excluding the average output value per industrial enterprise. The unsustainable low-poverty communities are more likely to have higher proportion of the secondary industry, higher total industrial output value, higher average output value per industrial enterprise, and higher intensity of infrastructure construction, compared to the sustainable low-poverty communities. The factors that determine the communities to choose the pathway to sustainable communities are the landscape and social conditions of secondary industry and agriculture, and the economic development level. So the policies that aim at promoting the sustainability of the unsustainable communities will have to focus on the different actions for unsustainable high-poverty and unsustainable low-poverty communities.

About the presenter
Jiuchang Wei is an associate professor of School of Management, University of Science and Technology of China. He is currently visiting the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute as a visiting scholar sponsored by Chinese Academy of Sciences.
His research interests cover the sustainable development in Central China and disaster information communication.

Presenter: Steven Andrews
Date: Thursday, 7th May 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

About the presenter
Steve Andrews: I grew up in San Diego, California and as a child was frequently on the ocean, learning to respect its power and mystery. After visiting the Monterey Bay Aquarium in second grade, I knew I wanted to study our marine environment. I graduated from the University of California, Berkeley in 2007 with a BS in Conservation and Resource Studies. Following graduation I worked as a research diver for UC Santa Barbara studying the effects of artificial reefs on temperate biotic communities.

Abstract
As development occurs and humans continue to increase our environmental impact, serious attention and effort needs to be allocated to the creation of local environmental educational programs. My question is: What is the potential for a community-based educational program to promote marine stewardship in the Cape to Cape area? The Cape to Cape region is a biodiversity hotspot and the terrestrial as well as marine environments are under threat as more and more people visit and move to the region. Therefore, it is "prime" time for the creation of a local marine educational program. First, the community understanding/knowledge of their marine environment will be assessed. Then, along with the community, various educational tools will be examined and their effectiveness measured utilizing a social research method referred to as participatory action research. Ultimately, the major goal will be to have a community created and community led marine educational program that will have longevity and be adaptive.

or

How Many People Can the Earth Support?

or

Are Humans a Species Prone to Population Overshoot and Collapse?

Presenter: Dr. Max Kummerow
Date: Thursday, 16th April 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

About the presenter
Dr. Max Kummerow was awarded a PhD in Property Studies by Curtin Business School in 1997 with a dissertation on office market cycles. He was a lecturer and senior lecturer in Curtin's Department of Property Studies, School of Economics & Finance from 1992 to 2004 when he returned to the United States and took a visiting lecturer position at the University of Washington. While at Curtin he published a number of papers on office market cycles and real estate valuation theory. His paper "A statistical definition of value" was awarded a "best paper" prize in 2002 by the American Appraisal Journal. Since 2006 he has been employed by Greenfield Advisors, a Seattle real estate consulting firm. In 2008 he began part time study for a second PhD in Curtin's Economics Department. His interest in population's relationship to poverty and economic development began during three summers in Guatemala and Brazil during the 1960s where he witnessed the effects of kwashiorkor and malnutrition firsthand.

Abstract
Malthus 1798 Essay on the Principle of Population was the first important quantitative model in both Ecology and Economics. But Malthus' ideas have had radically different acceptance in the two "eco" (Greek for home or household) disciplines. Malthus became bedrock theory in biological sciences. Darwin and Wallace both wrote that half of their theory of evolution (excess reproduction and environmental limits) came from reading Malthus. They added natural selection and survival of the fittest. In economics, Malthus' essay was a polemic against expanding the "poor laws," that is, as part of a political economy debate in opposition to reformers like William Godwin and the Marquis de Condorcet. With a few important exceptions (J.S. Mill, Gunnar Myrdal, Ken Boulding, Herman Daly, Bob Costanza) a majority of economists, revolutionaries and reformers rejected Malthus and concluded instead that humans are able to escape excess reproduction and environmental constraints (Marx, Henry George, Robert Solow, Julian Simon). Mainstream economics textbooks and policy debates barely mention population levels or growth as factors in economic development. Many economists assume an automatic "demographic transition" to stable populations occurs as incomes increase and converge. But, while the past century provides clear evidence that reducing fertility has been associated with long term peace and prosperity (and vice versa), fertility remains high in poor countries, creating "poverty traps", dramatic demographic shifts, illegal immigration and violent conflicts. This presentation argues for the ecologists' position, using the concept of ecological niche to examine why although both functions in Malthus' model - exponential growth of population, arithmetic growth of food supplies - were completely wrong, nevertheless the basic insight that environmental limits matter stands more clearly demonstrated now than in Malthus' time - the natural scientists and "moral restraint" (Malthus' term for birth control) economists win the debate. Moreover, the ecologists' concern has morphed from "limits" to "overshoot and collapse" scenarios. Economists were correct in pointing out humans' ability to expand our biological niche (and therefore sustain higher populations - we've grown from 1 to 7 billion since 1800), but should listen to natural scientists and historians who point out that collapse and shrinking niches have also been frequent in the historical record of our species. Herman Daly's "steady state economics" integrates the economic and ecological perspectives by pointing out that the human economy is an open subsystem of earth's planetary ecosystems with inputs of energy, materials and "ecosystem services" and outputs of various forms of pollution and depletion of "natural capital" such as fossil fuels, soils, groundwater stocks and species diversity.

Presenter: Dr Reena Tiwari
Date: Thursday 9th April
Time: 11.30 am- 12.30 pm
Venue: CUSP, 3 Pakenham Street, Fremantle

Abstract
A shift from the traditional 'City of Lived Experience' to the present day 'City of Consumption' has seen the emergence of a disconnection between people and their city environments. This is becoming more apparent in cities dealing with identity-crisis, crisis of consumerism and with social polarization. In today's global city we are seeing new geographies of rich and the poor being created and urban space has become a space of contestation (Sassen, 2001).
Can an approach of 'Urban Crafting' be developed that makes connections between different spatial geographies of the rich and poor within our cities? Searching and identifying opportunities within the local context, offering alternate architectural technology that uses and interprets local materials and local skills and involves the community may result in a built environment that not only connects the main stream with the marginalised, but also connects the inhabitants with spaces that they inhabit.

Project done for a slum community in India will be presented and the applicability of this approach in Perth context will be discussed.

About the presenter
Reena Tiwari is an urban designer and an academic in the Departments of Urban & Regional Planning and Architecture at Curtin University of Technology Perth, Western Australia. She has developed a framework of city-enquiry, underscoring a critical engagement with the embodied and expressive aspects of city life. Her work for marginalized communities both in India and Australia provides a ground for a comparative exploration of the needs, lifestyles, questions of identity and change for these communities. She has a PhD in the area of Urban Studies, a Masters in Urban Design and a Bachelor Degree in Architecture.

Presenter: Adj. Assoc. Prof. Kurt Seemann
Date: Thursday, 2nd April 2009
Time: 11.30 am- 12.30 pm
Venue: CUSP, 3 Pakenham Street, Fremantle

"What are we learning about how desert settlements work?"

Research into understanding desert settlements remains somewhat eclectic rather than integrated, settled and systemic. For the most part, what is often portrayed as settlement research is in fact specific research about a small collection of key settlement focus areas such as its economy, town planning, ecological footprint, demographics, or research associated with the social anthropology surrounding a focus issue such as health, transport or housing. In this presentation, a summary is offered of emerging research and field methods that seem to work. The implications of emerging concepts such as the ‘power curve indicator' are briefly introduced. These and other new ideas may suggest that Australia's desert settlements are the way they are, possibly due to them emulating scale-free modular networks with preferential tendencies. The seminar finished with suggested areas for further research and method development that could make a significant impact on how we come to understand and make policy about our human desire for settlement making.

About the presenter
Dr Kurt Seemann is an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Curtin University Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute and is the Director of Research of the School of Tourism and Hospitality Management at Southern Cross University, Coffs Harbour NSW. Kurt is also the Core Project Leader of ‘Sustainable Desert Settlements' research, in the Desert Knowledge CRC. Kurt's research interest has been to understand the relationship between People, Technology and the Environment as a complex adaptive and connected system. The scale of his research has focussed at two levels: the human scale of holistic technology education and processes of innovation, and the larger societal scale of systems driving and defining the sustainability of human settlements.

What Affects the Change in Energy Use and CO2 Emission in the Economy?

Presenter: Ryoji Hasegawa, Makoto Tamura
Date: Thursday, 19 March 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

About the presenter
Ryoji Hasegawa and Makoto Tamura are Project Researchers of ICAS (Institute for Global Change Adaptation Science) from the Ibaraki University. Ryoji Hasegawa's majors are: Environmental Economics, Regional Economics and Input-output Analysis. His topics are: Regional Policy for Global Warming, Decomposition Analysis of CO2 Emissions at the Local Level, Economic Damage of Flood Disaster Due to Global Warming at the River Basin and Environment and Economic Impact of Introducing Bio Energy Industries.

Makoto Tamura's major is Environmental Economics. His topics are Decomposition Analysis of CO2 Emissions and General Equilibrium Analysis.

Abstract

Ryoji Hasegawa
Each local government in Japan has established a program for GHGs reduction and is seeking solutions for global warming. This study investigates regional differences of CO2 emissions among all prefectures in Japan using regional energy matrixes constructed in the author's studies. Furthermore, we apply Structural Decomposition Analysis (SDA) across prefectures to analyze regional structure of CO2 emissions using regional I-O tables. Results show: (1) various regional characteristics in volume and intensity of CO2 emissions and (2) major factors generating regional discrepancy of CO2 emissions are emission intensities, the volume of regional export and the composition of regional export. These findings are useful to consider the potentiality of CO2 emission reduction at prefecture levels.

Makoto Tamura
There has been renewal of interest in the energy analysis, driven by the recent fluctuation in energy prices. Economic analyses often focus on price changes, which lead to the price substitution effect affecting the overall economy. On the other hand, it is clear that the changes in the patterns of energy use are caused by a multitude of factors, including autonomous technological development. Accordingly, decomposition methods are necessary if we want to understand the contribution of these various explanatory factors to structural change in the economy or changes in energy use.

The purpose of this study is to suggest a new approach to such decomposition. The multiple calibration technique is applied to an ex post decomposition analysis of structural change between periods, enabling the distinction between price substitution and technological change to be made for each sector. A distinguishing feature of this method is to separate structural change due to price substitution from that due to technological change by capturing the interdependence among economic sectors or factor inputs in a general equilibrium framework. This approach has the advantage of sounder micro theoretical underpinnings when compared with conventional decomposition methods.

This study applies the proposed methodology to the Japanese economy to evaluate the factors responsible for changes in energy use and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. This empirical analysis serves to illustrate the methodology's forte, which is to provide a better understanding of how much the economy was affected by price substitution or technological change. The results quantitatively show that technological change is the principal factor in diminishing energy use and CO2 emissions in Japan while total CO2 emissions increased primarily because of final demand effects reflecting economic growth.

Presenter: Janette Hartz-Karp, Dora Marinova, Rachel Armstrong, Dinny Laurence, Ed Oldmeadow, Rob Weymouth, Chiara Pacifici, Patrick Anderson
Date: Thursday, 26 Feb 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
Australia's first Citizens' Parliament (CP) was held at Old Parliament House in Canberra from February 6th to 9th, 2009. One hundred and fifty randomly selected people from across Australia, spent four days deliberating about how to strengthen our democracy to serve us better.

It was an extraordinary event - exceeding all expectations on almost every count: so many more participants than expected volunteered to take part; the good will and sustained effort through the CP of all those involved was extraordinary; the impacts of participating were considerable with many participants and members of the support team stating that the CP was a "life changing experience"; it was the most researched deliberation in the world which should lead to a much better understanding of deliberation; and the outcomes/CP Final Report were quite prescient - e.g., from the 52 proposal options to strengthen our democracy that the Citizen Parliamentarians had brought to the discussions, two of the proposals they had prioritised were reported in The Australian in lead articles the week after - as proposals put forward from quite independent ‘expert' research findings.

About the presenter
CUSP staff and students took key roles - Janette Hartz-Karp designed and co-led the CP; Dora Marinova was Report Coordinator; Rachel Armstrong was Theme Team Coordinator; and Dinny Laurence, Ed Oldmeadow, Rob Weymouth, Chiara Pacifici, and Patrick Anderson all played roles on the theme team, or as researchers or facilitators. At our CUSP Seminar, the group will be presenting their impressions and learning from their experiences at the CP.

Dr Janette Hartz-Karp is renowned nationally and internationally for her innovative work in community engagement and deliberative democracy. Her current position as Professor of Sustainability CUSP underscores the critical need to engage citizens and communities in more dynamic ways if we are to achieve greater sustainability.

Presenter: Peter Dell
Date: Thursday, 12 Feb 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

Abstract
The Rio Declaration includes principles such as cooperation, responsibility and respect for others, and sustainability research must consider the perspectives of all stakeholders - particularly groups who have often been excluded from debate in the past, such as indigenous groups, women, the elderly and the poor.

Qualitative research is well-suited to understanding these diverse perspectives, yet in contrast to quantitative analysis, the analysis of qualitative data is a challenging task with few universally accepted or well-established procedures.

Another challenge to qualitative research is that policy makers often favour quantitative data as more objective, and therefore it is imperative that qualitative be able to demonstrate a logical, structured analytical technique in order to have maximum impact.

In this talk I describe the qualitative analysis technique used in my doctoral studies, which provides a systematic technique for the analysis of free-form interview data.

About the presenter
Peter Dell is a lecturer at the School of Information Systems at Curtin University and recently completed a PhD at the Institute for Sustainability and Technology Policy (ISTP) at Murdoch University. He research interests fall mainly in IT field, but he has been known to dabble in sociology. He is a recluse of sorts and often finds machines or animals less annoying than people - both ideal qualifications for human-centred research.

Presenter: Professor Peter Newman
Date: Thursday, 5 Feb 2009
Time: 11.30 am
Venue: 3 Pakenham St, Fremantle

As one of Australia's leading academics and planners, Professor Newman heads a team of more than 20 top staff and researchers that make up the Curtin Sustainability Policy (CUSP) Institute. Professor Newman developed the State Sustainability Strategy 2001-2003, and coined the term "automobile dependence" to describe how we have created cities where we have to drive everywhere. For more than 30 years he has been warning cities about preparing for 'peak oil' and in Perth, Peter is known for his work in saving, rebuilding and extending the rail system which is now considered a global model. Peter has been in the US on a tour to promote his two new books ‘Green Urbanism Down Under' and ‘ Resilient Cities - Responding to Peak Oil and Climate Change' and he was able to attend the inauguration and speak with the new administration. He will speak about his trip and impressions of the new hope in global politics associated with Obama.