Everyone’s Climate Series: Risk, Responsibility, Reputation

In partnership with Solutions for Climate WA

Risk, Responsibility and Reputation was the second in Everyone’s Climate Series for 2026 held last Thursday June 18 at UWA Club.

The vision was to underscore the pressures that are arriving on WA business and industry regardless of whether climate change impacts are being taken seriously or not, and our outstanding experts really brought the message home.

Climate Scientist Jatin Kala who is the scientific lead on the Climate Science Initiative of WA warned about the pace at which we are approaching 1.5 degrees global warming and the fictitious "net" in net zero.

Environmental Defenders Office solicitor Kate Evans brought us up to speed on the ICJ Advisory Opinion on climate accountability and how prevalent climate litigation is becoming in Australia.

Pollination MDRob Grantsays we are still closer to the beginning than the end of the energy transition, ten years after the economic equalisation of cost between renewable energy and fossil fuels, but the cheaper it gets, the faster it will go. Rob also underscored how critical good partnerships with Traditional Owners are to reaching Paris commitments.

Money School founder Lacey Filipich made us all sit up when she illustrated how climate change will eat not only into our shared natural wealth but into personal wealth. She had a warning for company leaders - your business is undermining the basis upon which your wealth is built. Lacey says our job is to move our money from banks that fund fossil fuel projects and make sure super and shares aren't funding climate/ environment-destroying activities either.

Ngalia Traditional Owner and Chair of the National Native Title Council Kado Muir talked about Aboriginal economies and the value of nature... that in a traditional view there is a personal relationship with species and environment and the interaction with nature is spiritual kinship and that is how nature provides. Not generating surplus but sufficiency.

Climateworks Centre ChairSharan Burrow AC sees our greatest risk as being our culture - our risk aversion - which will continue to hold us in the frame of followers not leaders even though we have so much abundance for the clean energy transition. What is WA's electrification target? and where is the plan that gives investors confidence?

Bravo to Solutions for Climate WA's Jessica Panegyres, Michelle Grady and team Mika Leandro Manisha Gordon-Menon Sarah Twyford and Luke Hutcheson for the culmination of a very hectic and successful few weeks with the RET Alliance. Thanks a million for your partnership in this effort.

And huge thanks to the WA Climate Leaders team Lily Jovic Amilia Bakhtiar Aimee Smith and Amy Steel too

Thanks to EVERYONE who supported the event and for all the Dockers supporters who white-knuckled it for an hour - your team will take the Premiership for 2026 due to your sacrifice.

See you all at the next one.

Images by Marnie Richardson Photographer, AV by Perth Video and our series branding by Jack McAuliffe.