Urban Greening and Climate Change

Dr Judy Bush, 8 February 2022

Australia’s population is highly urbanised and increasingly coastal. As climate change impacts increase, Australia’s urban population will be progressively more exposed to many of these impacts, including sea level rise, urban heat, more intense storms and rainfall events, bushfires and drought. These complex challenges and impacts require a wide suite of responses, in addition to the necessary climate change mitigation actions that cities must undertake. Urban greening can make a significant contribution to climate change action in cities, as well as contributing to a range of other valuable functions, benefits and services. For example, vegetation is one of the most effective means to address urban heat, therefore contributing to both adaptation and mitigation efforts (the latter through a reduced use of artificial cooling). There is increasing recognition of the interlinkages between addressing both climate change and biodiversity ‘emergencies’. This seminar explores urban greening implementation and policy approaches, before highlighting current research examining the integration of climate change action across the built environment.