Johanna Nalau

I am a climate adaptation scientist who specialises in the ins and outs of how we make decisions in a changing climate.

I hold a PhD (Climate Adaptation) from Griffith and have Masters Degree in Environmental Science and Bachelor of Arts in Human Geography. My research looks at climate adaptation heuristics that are rules of thumb that we use in how we think about climate adaptation and make decisions on how to adapt. I also write about the national and global priorities for climate adaptation, how we should be moving forward and what a well adapted Australia looks like.

I was a Lead Author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment report in Working Group II Chapter 15 Small Islands and the Summary for Policymakers, an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow (2019-2022), and Science Committee Co-chair of the World Adaptation Science Program at United Nations. I also lead the Adaptation Science Research Theme at Cities Research Institute at Griffith University. I also teach Climate Adaptation Theory and Practice course that is part of the world's first Master's Degree on Climate Change Adaptation. I am also an Advisor to Resilience Frontiers, which is the United Nation's key initiative to bring in foresight and frontier technologies to re-imagine sustainable futures. All of my roles focus on understanding the core principles of climate change adaptation, and how adaptation science can play a positive role in evidence-based decision-making.