"A Natural Hazards Atlas: planning for climate risk & adaptation," a Zube Lecture Presented by Gabi Mocatta

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About the Talk

Increasing risk from natural hazards under climate change complicates strategic planning across a range of sectors. Global losses from climate-driven hazard events are projected to increase to US $460 billion annually by 2050. In this context, widespread understanding of climate risk and resilience-building are essential. Climate-hazard preparedness and disaster resilience are not only life saving: they also make economic sense, with some research indicating a return of $13 for every dollar invested in disaster preparedness and resilience. This talk provides insights into a project that is using climate models and community workshops to understand future climate-driven hazard risk, and then providing in-depth, tailored hazard information to enable adaptation planning. The Natural Hazards Atlas for Tasmania, a project based in Australia’s island state of Tasmania, and funded by the Australian Government’s Disaster Ready Fund, provides a blueprint for how such work could be undertaken in other locations, to improve planning for a future under climate change.

About the Speaker

Gabi Mocatta is a climate social scientist whose research focuses on communicating climate science and climate-driven hazards, as well as building public climate literacy. This multifocal work takes place at the site where climate change science, public understanding and collective discourse on climate change and environmental policy intersect. Gabi is a Senior Research Fellow in Climate Science Communication with the Climate Futures research group in the School of Geography, Planning and Spatial Sciences at the University of Tasmania, Australia. During 2025, Dr. Mocatta has been a Fulbright Fellow, working at the Center for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, and currently in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of Colorado, Boulder.