Australia: USC to co-lead global project worth 1m Euros

By Julie Schomberg

The University of the Sunshine Coast will co-lead a three-year international research project on climate change adaptation and water governance after the joint proposal won a grant of one million Euros.

USC Associate Professor Neil Powell said the University was delighted that its first joint proposal with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) had been successful and would draw on Sunshine Coast and Australia-wide research and case studies on sustainability issues.

USC will receive about AUD$400,000 of the grant.

The University recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the SEI, a non-profit, independent research and policy institute that has strong global links and recognition.

Associate Professor Powell, formerly of the SEI, has joined USC as a Collaborative Research Networks (CRN) Professorial Fellow in Sustainability and will coordinate the grant project alongside USC’s Professor Tim Smith and Senior Lecturer Dr Dana Thomsen.

Dr Powell said he expected regional and national approaches to natural resources dilemmas in coastal and marine contexts to be of great interest.

The project, which starts in October, involves 10 research partners from Sweden, United Kingdom, Italy, Netherlands, United States, Canada and Australia and will be funded by three European philanthropic organisations.

“The purpose is to inform European policymaking about innovative ways of dealing with the global issues of climate change adaptation and water governance,” said Dr Powell.

“The Australian partners will play a crucial role in communicating experiences on how Australians adapt to extreme events magnified by climate change, such as the Queensland floods.

“This is a great opportunity for USC to contribute insights and lessons learnt, using ongoing cases and research involving stakeholders such as local councils.”

USC will work closely with the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and, in Australia, with Griffith University and the University of Tasmania.

The philanthropic organisations funding the grant are: Volkswagen Foundation, Riksbankens Jubileumsfond (Swedish Reserve Bank Fund) and Compagnia di San Paolo (Italian philanthropic organisation established in 1563).