ACT Climate Change Council

The ACT Climate Change Council provides advice to the Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change. Meet the members of the Council. Read the Council’s annual reports, submissions and news. You can also get in touch with the Council.

The ACT Climate Change Council advises the Minister for Water, Energy and Emissions Reduction on matters relating to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, building resilience and adapting to climate change. The ACT Government established the Council in 2011 under the Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act 2010.

The Council meets at least 4 times each year and produces an annual report of its activities that includes advice given to the Minister.

Meet your council

Portrait photo of Council Member, Dr Paul Bannister

Dr Paul Bannister is appointed to the Council for his expertise in energy efficiency and the built environment.

Dr Bannister has expertise in the field of commercial and institutional building energy efficiency. He had a central role in the development of major energy efficiency innovations such as the NABERS Energy and water ratings and the redevelopment of Section J (Energy Efficiency) of the Australian Building Code (2019 Edition). One of Dr Bannister's particular specialities is the optimisation of building controls, which he has been able to use to create significant improvements in building performance on a wide range of sites.

Dr Bannister is a well-known speaker on energy efficiency issues both nationally and internationally, having presented at numerous conferences within Australia and overseas. He has published well over 80 papers on energy efficiency related issues. Dr Bannister has strong networks in the building and property industry, from government through to builders and from industry associations through to individual property managers.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Dr Cris Brack

Dr Cris Brack is appointed to the Council for his expertise in environmental management.

Dr Brack is Associate Professor of Natural Resource Measurement and Management in The Fenner School of Environment and Society at the Australian National University. He has over twenty years of experience in researching, teaching and developing best practices in urban forestry, having published 12 peer reviewed articles specifically on urban forests and green spaces, in addition to another 70 papers on carbon sequestration, natural resource assessment and management.

Dr Brack won an Australian Museum Eureka Award for Environmental Science for his work on the National Carbon Accounting System (NCAS), which was developed to support national policy development on climate change mitigation. Dr Brack has extensive skills and experience working with ANU and the ACT Government on the planning and management of Canberra's urban forest, including street trees and the National Arboretum. Dr Brack's recent research has focused on sustaining a vibrant and healthy urban forest in the presence of increasingly harsh climate scenarios.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Ms Sophia Hamblin Wangk

Ms Sophia Hamblin Wang is appointed to the Council for her expertise in business.

Ms Hamblin Wang is a local entrepreneur with a goal to enhance the engagement of the corporate world with global and local environmental and social issues, particularly focusing on the social impacts of climate change. She has experience in business, low carbon technologies and sustainability, and an academic background in international business and Corporate Social Responsibility.

Ms Hamblin Wang is currently the Chief Operations Officer of Mineral Carbonation International, a company that develops sustainable materials that incorporate CO2 emissions into building products, and was recently awarded first place for Resource Innovator of the Year at the New Materials Summit in Berlin. Ms Hamblin Wang is also a co-founder of 'Kingfisher Co-Housing Canberra', which aims to build resident-led micro-co-housing communities in Canberra. She has previously been a delegate at many national and international conferences on climate change, entrepreneurship and business including the World Economic Forum in Davos, 2020 and the UN Youth Climate Change Summit in New York, 2019.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Ms Sophia Hamblin Wang

Professor Mark Howden is appointed to the Council for his expertise in climate change science.

Professor Howden is Director, ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions. He is also an Honorary Professor at Melbourne University, and a Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II. He was on the US Federal Advisory Committee for the 3rd National Climate Assessment and contributes to several major national and international science and policy advisory bodies.

Professor Howden has worked on climate variability, climate change, innovation and adaptation issues for over 30 years in partnership with many industry, community and policy groups via both research and science-policy roles. Issues he has addressed include agriculture and food security, the natural resource base, ecosystems and biodiversity, energy, water and urban systems. Professor Howden has over 420 publications of different types. He helped develop both the national and international greenhouse gas inventories that are a fundamental part of the Paris Agreement and has assessed sustainable ways to reduce emissions. He has been a major contributor to the IPCC since 1991, with roles in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth and now Sixth Assessment Reports, sharing the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with other IPCC participants and Al Gore.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Dr Anagretta Hunter

Dr Arnagretta Hunter is a cardiologist and physician with longstanding commitment to health and climate change research and advocacy.

She graduated from the University of Melbourne with a BA (Hons) in political science before completing degrees in Medicine and Public Health at the University of Sydney. She is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and has worked as a doctor in rural, regional and urban settings across eastern Australia.

Dr Hunter is the Human Futures Fellow at the ANU College of Health and Medicine (ANU CHM) and is Chair of the Commission for the Human Future – an initiative which brings together researchers and citizens focusing on global challenges and existential threats with an aim to navigate toward our best future through the complex challenges of our time.

She is a Senior Lecturer at the ANU CHM and a member of the ANU Institute for Climate, Energy and Disaster Solutions. She was Chair of the ANU Bushfire Impact Working Group who worked on the health impacts of the Black Summer through advocacy, health communication, and research. Dr Hunter is the co-host of the Policy Forum Podcast from ANU Crawford School of Public Policy.

In addition to her expertise in medicine, health and public policy, Dr Hunter brings a passion to see the best outcomes for the ACT and beyond in the context of a changing climate and the associated global health threats.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Associate Professor Aparna Lal

Associate Professor Aparna Lal is an ecologist and public health scientist at the National centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the ANU College of Health and Medicine.

Her work looks at the influence of environmental variability (such as rainfall extremes and changing land use) and other social factors on community risks to current and future climate change. Some of her current work focuses on Indigenous and rural communities – priority populations that are at high risk to the health impacts associated with climate change.

Associate Professor Lal is passionate about communicating not only her science but also the intrinsically high value of nature to the next generation. She believes that for people to take meaningful action on climate change, they must feel connected to, and have easy access to the natural environment.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Dr Thomas Longden

Dr Thomas Longden is an environmental economist and Fellow at the Crawford School of Public Policy at the ANU. He is part of the ANU’s Grand Challenge: Zero-Carbon Energy for the Asia-Pacific.

Dr Longden holds a PhD from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), and his main areas of research interest are the decarbonisation of energy and transport, health economics and energy economics. His work on transport, energy modelling, applied econometrics and technological change has been published in leading international journals.

Dr Longden aims to use his academic expertise to help shape public policy that enables Canberrans to reduce their carbon footprint. He believes that incentives matter and that changes should focus on improved convenience, not detract from quality of life and be accessible for all people, especially those who are disadvantaged.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Ben Ponton

Mr Ben Ponton is appointed to the Council as Director-General of the Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate.

Mr Ponton was appointed to the role of Director-General in April 2017. Ben is a registered town planner with over 25 years' experience in both the private and government sectors and is passionate about achieving high quality outcomes through meaningful and effective engagement.

Ben has experience within the private sector where he worked as a town planning consultant before beginning his government career with various New South Wales local government authorities. For the last 14 years, Ben has worked for the ACT Government in areas such as strategic planning, environmental policy, land and planning regulation, transport, city services and urban renewal. Ben focuses on citizen-oriented Government and believes in engaging with citizens early to build a sustainable and prosperous community for all.

Portrait photo of Council Member, Mia Swainson

Ms Mia Swainson is a consulting strategist with more than 15 years practical experience delivering climate-relevant programs for the Australian Government and non-government sectors. Her qualifications in environmental engineering provided a strong basis for her work on rooftop solar, carbon farming and accounting, and in the aid sector, where she developed a community disaster preparedness program and investigated the intersection between social disadvantage and climate change.

Ms Swainson is a champion for practical climate action in the Canberra community.

She writes regularly on sustainable living for HerCanberra and her book, Happy Planet Living is due to be published in September 2022. Mia also volunteers as Chair of Zero Waste Revolution and President of Canberra Environment Centre where she has led the drive for evidence-based design of community environmental education programs that change behaviour.

Council publications

Contact the Council

Council members are keen to engage with the ACT community. Raise an issue, invite us to attend a local event, or tell us about recent climate change news or research. Get in touch with us at:

You can also write to us at:
ACT Climate Change Council
Environment, Planning and Sustainable Development Directorate
ACT Government
GPO Box 158
Canberra ACT 2601

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Acknowledgement of Country

We acknowledge the Ngunnawal people as traditional custodians of the ACT and recognise any other people or families with connection to the lands of the ACT and region. We acknowledge and respect their continuing culture and the contribution they make to the life of this city and this region.