Toward an updated EA Climate Policy

Create: 09/14/2021 - 23:13
Climate Change Dangers

SENG National Committee is pressing Engineers Australia to update its 2014 Climate Policy in line with the imperatives for global action spelt out in the recently released report of the IPCC's Working Group 1.

 

EA members were advised by newsletter about the climate change position statements with this link.
The link has links to “The new Draft Engineers Australia Position on Climate Change (PDF) updates and extends the 2014 Engineers Australia Climate Change Policy (PDF).”

The first of these links has the word “update” but does not mention the position statement prepared by Jonathan Russell for Peter McIntyre over some months in 2019 although the CEO states in the newsletter link “The development of this draft position has been informed by membership-wide consultation in 2019, Engineers Australia’s 2020 Engineering Responses to Climate Change Roundtable and 2021 discussions with office bearers including the Chairs of the Sustainable Engineering Society and the Environmental College.”

That document had been the subject of extensive discussion and input from member groups such as SENG and the Environmental College, but with the resignation of the CEO work stopped and submissions after June 2019 were not added, or if they were they were not seen by the membership. Subsequent requests by members for an updated climate policy saw no action until the newsletter announcement on 24th August 2021, some two years later. The new documents have been prepared by staff with a week for members to comment – if they saw the invitation. There is little evidence that the submission by SENG and CEEB to the president earlier in August has been taken into account and it is difficult to find any inclusion of the work done in 2019. Only one significant reference could be found by our reviewers.

Read full SENG letter to EA National Manager, Public Affairs and Policy.

See also Environment College response to draft EA Climate Change Position and Supporting Information.