The University of Melbourne, in partnership with the Pacific Climate Change Centre (PCCC), hosted by the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), has once again secured over half a million dollars in funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to improve climate, energy and health resilience.
The AUD 500,790 grant from the Australia Awards Fellowship initiative, will fund 15 fellows to attend a six-week program hosted by Melbourne Climate Futures, the University’s climate change research initiative.
This is the third consecutive round of Australia Awards funding the program has secured and, this round, will select fellows from the Caribbean, as well as the Indo-Pacific region, with the collaboration of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre.
Titled ‘Enhancing climate, energy and health resilience across the Pacific and Caribbean’, the program will deliver comprehensive specialist training on:
• Thematic priority areas including adaptation and health considerations in Small Island Developing States
• Research and practice considerations including effective community engagement
• Leadership and advocacy to support adaptation and resilience
• Policy and program development to achieve climate resilient development
• Pursuing green energy and just transitions in Small Island Developing States
• Effective knowledge exchange and communication strategies.
The practical program is designed to increase fellows’ expertise, advancing their efforts to alleviate climate impacts upon returning home.
"The opportunity to expand the reach of these Australia Awards Fellowships by collaborating with fellows from the Caribbean significantly increases the impact of the program and the benefits to some of the world’s most at-risk regions," said Professor Kathryn Bowen, Deputy Director, Melbourne Climate Futures, and Professor of Environment, Climate and Global Health, Melbourne School of Population and Global Health, University of Melbourne.
"By bringing these fellows together, we will support and nurture a network of experts across the globe whose work improves climate, energy and health outcomes in their communities."
During the fellowship, each participant will prepare a research output, such as a policy brief, with the support of a local mentor, and will reconvene with their cohort at a workshop led by PCCC after the completion of the initial training.
"SPREP through the PCCC is pleased to partner with the University of Melbourne on this program, as it will strengthen the PCCC Community of Practice comprising a cohort of climate change practitioners working in government, non-government organisations, and the private sector across the Pacific," said Ms Ofa Kaisamy, Manager, Pacific Climate Change Centre.
"This fellowship program will allow for knowledge-sharing, networking, and partnership to take place between the fellows, facilitators, and experts to build and strengthen relationships across the Indo- Pacific region. The fellowship also aims to strengthen capacities of practitioners working on climate adaptation, resilience and green energy transition in the Indo-Pacific region."
Australia Awards are prestigious, transformational scholarships offered to emerging leaders from across the globe’s Small Island Developing States, which provide the opportunity to showcase Australia’s world-class education sector in a globally competitive marketplace.
The fellowship will be offered to select candidates from Federated States of Micronesia Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Palau, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti and Jamaica.