Rethinking Australia’s approach to land use

Australia’s people, land and nature are intertwined. Land provides food, materials, energy and wild places.

Currently, Australia’s land is being pushed to its limits by competing policies and priorities.

Climateworks Centre’s forthcoming report details how a national framework for land use can support nature, communities and the economy while respecting Indigenous ways of caring for Country – and delivering on climate.

FREE ONLINE EVENT

Tuesday 26 May 2026
2pm AEST

Panel session with Q&A

Can’t make it? Register to receive a link to the recording of the event.

Climateworks Centre and Deakin University’s world-leading spatial scenario model LUTO2 maps how Australia can meet climate and biodiversity targets while unlocking opportunities for regions and industries.

Join Climateworks’ Liam Walsh, Pat Jaffe and Jo Sanson and Deakin’s Professor Brett Bryan to hear how the right tools, clear planning and inclusive decision‑making can help change Australia’s land use for the better.

PANELLISTS:

Jo Sanson
Program Impact Manager, Climateworks Centre

Jo leads Climateworks’ Land Use Futures program. Her career has spanned international development, with a focus on livelihoods, poverty reduction and climate adaptation across Latin America, Africa and South Asia.

Previously, she led research and evaluation for a New York-based NGO, providing technical assistance to governments and the World Bank. She has also held roles with the Eurasia Foundation for Central Asia, the Red Cross and Oxfam.

Pat Jaffe
Senior Analyst, Climateworks Centre

Pat is a climate economist who specialises in translating complex quantitative modelling into actionable climate policy. At Climateworks, he leads work on land-use modelling, green financial indices, and transport decarbonisation in Indonesia.

Previously, he worked at the Victorian Government’s Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), where he helped build the evidence base for Victoria’s 2035 Emissions Reduction Target and develop strategic advice on whole-of-economy decarbonisation pathways.

Professor Brett Bryan
Deakin Distinguished Professor and Professor of Global Change, Environment and Society, Deakin University

Brett is a Deakin Distinguished Professor of Global Change, Environment and Society, focused on finding sustainable solutions for land and food systems. He has extensive experience leading large-scale research on climate change, biodiversity conservation, and water resources across Australia, China and globally. Before joining Deakin University, he spent nearly 14 years as a Principal Research Scientist at CSIRO and held academic roles at the University of Adelaide. Brett holds a PhD from the University of Adelaide.

HOST:

Liam Walsh
System Lead – Food, Land and Oceans, Climateworks Centre

Liam leads Climateworks’ efforts to reduce emissions across the food, land and ocean system in Australia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific. He brings broad experience working with major companies and governments across Australia, Vietnam, Kenya, Liberia and the UK on sustainable agriculture, biodiversity conservation, natural capital accounting and sustainable diets. Before joining Climateworks he worked for WWF, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, Conservation International and Fauna and Flora International.