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We are determined to end poverty and hunger, in all their forms and dimensions, and to ensure that all human beings can fulfil their potential in dignity and equality and in a healthy environment.
PRIORITY STATEMENTS
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
SDG 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable and modern energy services.
SDG 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure, including regional and transborder infrastructure, to support economic development and human wellbeing, with a focus on affordable and equitable access for all.
SDG 11.a: Support positive economic, social and environmental links between urban, peri- urban and rural areas by strengthening national and regional development planning.
SDG 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction and early warning.
"We have the most students of any university in NSW from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, Pasifika, refugee, and low SES backgrounds. We are therefore especially aware of the need to care for the country on which Western Sydney was built, to act urgently to protect those nations in the Pacific most immediately at risk of rising sea levels, to open our arms to those that the climate crisis inevitably will displace, and to ensure there is a secure and just transition of the workforce to a sustainable economy.”
- CLIMATE CAUCUS STUDENT GROUP, 2019
SNAPSHOT
Urban heat in Western Sydney
- 37 days above 35 degrees Celcius (‘hot day’) recorded in 2018-2019 in Penrith, 19 days recorded in Parramatta and 20 days in Bankstown. This is compared to 6 days in the Sydney CBD. (Greater Sydney Commission, 2019)
- 35 degrees Celcius is the threshold for a ‘hot day’ because the human body’s ability to cool itself reduces, making it a common benchmark temperature. (HeatWatch, 2018)
- 100% higher energy consumption for cooling purposes in Western Sydney than in the eastern suburbs during hot days. (Sydney Water, 2018)
Climate change is not on pause. Weather patterns are changing, sea levels are rising, and weather events are becoming more extreme – 2019 marked the end of the warmest decade (2010-2019) ever recorded. Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere rose to new records and while greenhouse gas emissions are projected to drop about 6% in 2020 due to travel bans and economic slowdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, this improvement is only temporary. Once the global economy begins to recover from the pandemic, emissions are expected to return to higher levels. A Preliminary Resilience Assessment (PRA) has been undertaken for all Western Sydney University campuses focusing on climate change risks for our campus infrastructure and campus communities of practice.
The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, aims to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The agreement also aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change, through appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework. However:
“Currently there is a significant gap between the aggregate effect of the global signatories’ mitigation pledges under the Paris Agreement in terms of global annual emissions and attempts to keep the rate of warming below 2 degrees. Failure to achieve such a goal will make worldwide efforts to end poverty and reverse inequalities more difficult or impossible.”
- Knowledge, Culture, Climate Action Conference organisers, 2019
Western Sydney University is a Research and Independent Non-Governmental Organisation (RINGO) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. RINGOs are organisations engaged in independent research and analysis aimed at developing sound strategies to address both the causes and consequences of global climate change.
They form a constituency in their own right to contribute to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in a parallel way to ENGOs (Environment), BINGOs (Business and Industry), LGMAs (Local Governments and Municipal Authorities) and the IPOs (Indigenous Peoples’ Organisations).
The ability of our communities and society to adapt to changing circumstances and economic conditions is fundamental to our future sustainability. We can contribute to the ability to learn and gain knowledge, creating flexible problem-solving strategies and techniques through application of our research and teaching frameworks. Through the development and implementation of Western Growth innovative place-making initiatives, we have a unique platform upon which to build circular economic frameworks and test beds for adaptive communities and places. Our plans for the Penrith Sustainable Innovation Community will provide a test bed for determining the wider role that we can play in the development of sustainable and resilience communities for the future through meshing place-making, research and educational initiatives and recognising and exemplifying that lifelong learning.
STRATEGIC ACTIONS TO 2030
- Deliver 21C Curriculum Challenge ‘Sustainability Advocates’ to develop graduates thatare committed to interrogating and advancing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
- Carbon neutrality by 2030;
- Develop resilient precincts through Green Star Communities and enhancing integrative infrastructure strategies including sustainable energy and water strategies, strategic asset planning, and design for thermal tolerance and protection;
- Implementation of the Penrith Sustainable Innovation Community Precinct as an integrated circular economic platform for lifelong learning; and
- Implement adaptation strategies for readiness for increasing bushfire risk and storm damage.
- Urban heat mitigation and adaptation research with WSROC councils; and
- Increasing our participation as a RINGO in the UNFCCC and other United Nations science and governance processes.
- Engagement with Local, State and Federal Government on initiatives to support the development of our campus infrastructure; and
- Partner with organisations that are equally committed to supporting climate resilience actions.
EXPLORE OTHER PRIORITY STATEMENTS
Embrace Indigenous knowledges for pathways to sustainability and Caring for Country.
Value biodiversity linking human wellbeing to environmental health.
Enact new visions for economic transitions through ethical economic and ecological relationships.
Harness the benefits of AI and automation in planning for sustainability.
Promote agroecological principles for just food systems.
Activate environmental justice and social inclusion to tackle inequality in our region.
Collaborate with regional, national and international organisations across all sectors to deliver impact across these priority statements.
Engage with the Strategy
Browse the 'PEOPLE' themed submissions below or submit your own work which supports the strategy by clicking the button below.
