Climate change is already affecting how the University operates, and its impacts are expected to increase over time. While reducing emissions is essential, ANU also needs to plan for the climate impacts that are already locked in.
Climate risk refers to the potential for climate change to affect people, places and systems. For ANU, this includes impacts on student experience, research and teaching, campus operations, health and safety, infrastructure and long-term financial planning. These impacts include physical risks, such as more frequent heatwaves, extreme weather events and bushfire risk, as well as transition risks linked to the shifts in policy and regulation, financial and technological changes and evolving market expectations, all influencing how the University manages its assets and plans for the future.
Managing climate risk helps ensure ANU can continue to operate safely, support its community and maintain continuity in a changing climate. It also creates opportunities such as preparing climate-literate graduates to strengthen research and decision-making to support Australia’s transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future.
By integrating climate risk management into planning, governance and operations, the University is safeguarding its mission, protecting its community and reinforcing its role as a credible, forward-looking institution.
See highlights from our climate risk work below or explore our progress in our various reports and publications.
Our approach
Climate risk considerations are integrated across the Environmental Sustainability Plan through other pillars such as Energy, Built Environment, Water, Landscapes & Ecosystems and Goods & Services. As a result, this pillar focuses on embedding climate resilience and adaptation considerations throughout the whole University, with a focus on governance, strategy and risk management. This includes strengthening the integration of climate risk into the Enterprise Risk Management Framework, research and teaching as well as across enabling areas such as Finance, Information Technology and People and Culture.
Our goal
Embed climate risk and opportunity into all institutional planning, operations and financial decision-making.
Our targets
Our climate risk work is focused on building institutional capability and embedding climate considerations into decision-making through integrating climate risk and opportunity into University, College and Division strategic plans from 2026 onwards.
Our progress
We are strengthening foundations for effective climate risk management through improved governance, assessment and disclosure. In 2024, we participated in the Commonwealth Climate Disclosure Pilot, submitting its first voluntary climate risk disclosure through the ANU Annual Report. Full climate disclosures will continue to be submitted and included in ANU Annual Reports.
We also co-chair a cross-sector working group exploring how climate change will impact the tertiary education sector in the short, medium and long term. In 2024, workshops were held across Australia with participation from twelve universities, bringing together experts and stakeholders to share insights and approaches. The resulting report, launched in June 2025, will inform ANU-specific climate risk assessments and adaptation strategies.
Our progress is reviewed regularly and published through various reports and publications.
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