FAB Canberra

FAB Canberra, a podcast from the Centre For A Better Canberra (FAB CBR), brings you into the conversation with leading experts exploring what makes Canberra great and how we can make it even better.

Our first series, Carbon Neutral Canberra, explores the Australian Capital Territory’s impressive journey to 100% renewable energy, and the challenges ahead to get the rest of the way down the path to net zero by 2045 – a legislated mandate. Canberra has the ambition to be carbon neutral by 2045. We’re already world-leading as one of the few cities powered by 100% renewable electricity. But there’s more to do.

FAB CBR leaders Martin Greenwood and Professor Chris Wallace talk environmentalism, town planning, architecture, activism, international human rights, urban microforests, atmospheric science, economics, infrastructure and policymaking to explore what a carbon neutral Canberra can and should look like – and how we can make it a reality. Hear about carbon neutral reform – achieved and aspired to – from experts driving change in Australia’s capital.

The Centre For A Better Canberra is the University of Canberra think tank established as part of UC’s civic university commitment to Canberra and the region.

  • Carbon Neutral Canberra #5: Bricks, Mortar, Concrete and Carbon

    FAB Canberra
    FAB Canberra
    Carbon Neutral Canberra #5: Bricks, Mortar, Concrete and Carbon
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    ‘As older suburbs undergo significant renewal, many existing homes…are being knocked down to make way for new, poorly performing volume builds,’ says University of Canberra associate professor & Supermanoeuvre director, Max Maxwell.

    ‘As architects, we need to transcend demonstration projects and deliver high quality inclusive and sustainable built environments for all,’ says Australian Institute of Architects national president & GHD Design director, Jane Cassidy.

    Join Jane and Max at Carbon Neutral Canberra #5 discussing architecture’s and infrastructure’s role in getting us to net zero by 2045, as legislated in the ACT Integrated Energy Plan 2024-2030.

  • Carbon Neutral Canberra #4: Electrify everything! Households’ role in Canberra’s next big carbon neutral push

    FAB Canberra
    FAB Canberra
    Carbon Neutral Canberra #4: Electrify everything! Households’ role in Canberra’s next big carbon neutral push
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    The ACT Government’s ‘Our Pathway to Electrification’ plan likens Canberra households’ transition from gas to electric appliances to the switch from analogue to digital TV, and the phasing out of leaded petrol. How can we encourage and help everyone make the shift in this next vital part of our net zero journey?

    Join UC Centre for Environmental Governance director, Professor Jacki Schirmer, and Canberra Business School Associate Dean Research, Professor Rebekah Russell-Bennett, in conversation on how to help households go electric faster, and adapt safely to accelerating climate change.

  • Carbon Neutral Canberra #3: The UN Resolution on a healthy environment as a human right: Implications for Canberra

    FAB Canberra
    FAB Canberra
    Carbon Neutral Canberra #3: The UN Resolution on a healthy environment as a human right: Implications for Canberra
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    The UN General Assembly has declared a healthy environment a human right. To make this right a reality in Canberra, the ACT Assembly has passed the Human Rights (Healthy Environment) Amendment Act 2023. What opportunities does this create to make Canberra carbon neutral faster?

    Join Associate Professor Cristy Clark (Canberra Law School, UC) and ACT Commissioner for Sustainability and the Environment, Dr Sophie Lewis, in conversation on the implications of the UN General Assembly resolution for carbon neutral action.

  • Carbon Neutral Canberra #2: From Kitchen Sink to Carbon Sink

    FAB Canberra
    FAB Canberra
    Carbon Neutral Canberra #2: From Kitchen Sink to Carbon Sink
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    Canberra is already in the vanguard as one of the few cities in the world with 100% net renewable electricity. But there’s more to do.  Are urban microforest part of the answer? And what’s the experience of walking down the net zero path at household scale really like?

    Join urban microforest expert Edwina Robinson, and internationally recognised environmentalist and former Clinton White House sustainable development advisor Molly Harriss Olsonfor a conversation about how we can turn suburbs into carbon neutral powerhouses, and what trying to transition your home along the carbon neutral path is like.

  • Carbon Neutral Canberra #1: From 100% net renewable electricity to net zero

    FAB Canberra
    FAB Canberra
    Carbon Neutral Canberra #1: From 100% net renewable electricity to net zero
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    Canberra has a legislated mandate to be carbon neutral by 2045, as set out in the ACT Integrated Energy Plan 2024-2030. We’re already world-leading as one of the few cities with 100% net renewable electricity, which gets us half-way down the net zero road.

    Join distinguished environmentalist and town planner, UC Professor Emeritus Barbara Norman, and leading renewable energy expert and former ACT Deputy Chief Minister Simon Corbell, for a conversation about how Canberra’s 100% net renewable electricity policy happened, and what it can tell us about best next moves to achieve net zero by 2045.