Don Henry joins Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute

Highly regarded environmentalist Don Henry has joined the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute, located at the University of Melbourne, as a Public Policy Fellow in Environmentalism. The director of the institute, Professor Brendan Gleeson, described him as “one of the nation’s most experienced and insightful environmentalists”.

The CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation since 1998, Henry received the Equity Trustees Not For Profit CEO of the Year award in 2008 and the Prime Minister’s Environmentalist of the Year Award in 2013. His latest research will look at the last decade of environment policymaking and public engagement in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

“Climate change is the great challenge of our generation and we are now in a major period of change for energy production and consumption around the world,” Henry said.

“The good news is that, in the last decade, renewable energy production and energy efficiency have grown rapidly in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. The recent tremendous growth in Australian rooftop solar panels represents the equivalent of shutting down a large coal power station and taking away all the pollution that this created.

“I’m looking to research how public action and collaborations across society can shape and influence political leaders and innovative policymaking.

“My research will also look to the different approaches to climate change policy and public engagement across the Asia-Pacific region. China and Indonesia, for instance, are approaching climate change policy in terms of alleviating poverty and developmental concerns.”

Henry’s research will also focus on Indigenous and environmental collaborations for sustainability in Northern Australia.

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