On 6 April, the Climate Change Platform (CCP) organised its third Climate Change Research Seminar Series. The aim of these research seminars is twofold: to present state-of-the-art research developed by members of the University of Malta, and to identify gaps where further research is needed to support policy. The CCP, set up under the auspices of the Islands and Small States Institute, aims at facilitating collaborations between University of Malta entities and individuals interested in climate change issues, and to promote research and teaching initiatives relating to climate change.
Prof. Simone Borg, Climate Change Ambassador and Climate Change Platform Chair, and Mr Tim Davies, Deputy Head of Mission, Australian High Commission, opened the seminar, highlighting the importance of such research initiatives, and stressing the strong growing links between Malta and Australia in this field.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof. Hilary Bambrick, Professor and Head of School of Public Health and Social Work, Faculty of Health at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia. Prof. Bambrick gave an Australian perspective on health system preparedness for climate change, especially when facing extreme events, such as heat waves, floods and bush fires, highlighting the growing intensity of these events, which can seriously question the coping capacity of current health systems.
The panel discussion, moderated by Dr Stefano Moncada, Climate Change Platform Focal Point, included Dr Charmaine Gauci, Superintendent of Public Health; Dr Roberto Debono, Specialist in Public Health Medicine; Dr Julian Mamo, Senior Lecturer and Head of the Department of Public Health at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, University of Malta; and Dr John Paul Cauchi, from the NGO Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA).
For further details/interviews please contact ccp.research@um.edu.mt or – Climate Change Platform Focal Point.
