AI for Climate Symposium 2024
A two-day symposium on the science and innovation of AI for climate
CSIRO hosted the AI for Climate Symposium on 16-17 October 2024, bringing together over 120 AI and climate experts across industry, government and academia.
The Symposium explored the nexus between AI and climate. Across the two days, our speakers and participants explored the role AI could play in accelerating emissions reduction efforts or helping us adapt to a changing climate, safely and responsibly.
The Symposium featured:
- Targeted Keynotes looking at the role of novel AI capabilities in responding to industry-focused climate challenges
- Innovation Talks from early-to-mid-career researchers on cutting-edge AI-for-climate capabilities
- A Climate Solutions Design Sprint where cross-disciplinary teams ideated and pitched a novel AI-driven climate solution
16 October 2024
Open allClose all| Time | Session | Speaker/Facilitator | |
| 8.30am | Guest arrival & Registration | ||
| 9:00am | Welcome |
CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 9:05am | Welcome to Country | Wurundjeri Man, Colin Hunter Jnr Jnr | |
| 9:15am | Opening Remarks |
Jon Whittle Director, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 9:30am |
Keynote AI Foundation Models for (Earth) Science |
IBM Research, USA |
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| 10:15am | Morning Tea | ||
| 10:45am |
Panel Discussion Bridging Gaps: AI Solutions for Government & Industry Climate Issues Facilitated by Mahesh Prakash, CSIRO’s Data61 |
Dr Emma Burns, Microsoft Australia Mahesh Krishnan, Fujitsu Australia Beth Dowe, Climate Leaders Coalition Oscar Wahktinez, Google |
|
| 11:30am |
Keynote Extreme Weather Impacts to Datacenter’s, IT Systems, AI, and Evolving Technology |
US Homeland Security |
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| 12:10pm |
Presentation The AI Forecast: Current and emerging AI use case for climate adaption and mitigation challenges |
CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 12:30pm | Networking lunch & Showcase | ||
| 1:30pm |
Design Sprint Climate Solutions Design Sprint (with afternoon tea) |
CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 3:00pm |
Afternoon Tea |
|
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| 3:30pm |
Climate Solutions Design Sprint |
||
| 5:30pm -7:30pm | Networking event |
17 October 2024
Open allClose all| Time | Session | Speaker/Facilitator | |
| 8:30am | Guest arrival & Registration | ||
| 9:00am | Welcome |
CSIRO’s Data61 |
|
| 9:10am |
Keynote Environmental Intelligence: the crucial role for AI in tackling environmental challenges |
Cardiff University & The Turing Institute |
|
| Innovation Talks |
Parallel Sessions |
|
|
| Session 1 | Cross Cutting, Modelling and Analytics |
Brent Henderson |
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| 10:00am | Statistical Insights into Geospatial Data Integration and Scaling |
Anna Freni-Sterrantino, The Turing Institute, UK |
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| 10:20am | Revisiting tabular Machine Learning to advance climate downscaling | Sanaa Hobeichi, 21st Century Weather – UNSW Sydney |
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| 10:40am | Explore how cutting-edge AI technologies revolutionise climate risk assessment and resilience planning | Joseph Glesta, ClimaSens |
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| Session 2 | Cross Cutting, Modelling and Analytics |
Sarah Hartman |
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| 10:00am | Computer vision: from measuring terrain to downscaling climate data | Peter Uhe, Fathom |
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| 10:20am | When Rivers Shift and Waters Rise: Modelling Non-Stationary Flows in a Changing Climate for Australia | Rajitha Athukorala, DARE, The University of Sydney |
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| 10:40am | Future-proofing Australian pollinators: AI for monitoring native bees | Asaduz Zaman, Monash University |
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| Session 3 | Cross Cutting, AI and Policy |
Sarvnaz Karimi |
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| 10:00am | An Application of NLP in Climate Adaptation for Agriculture | ||
| 10:20am | Using Generative AI to Automatically Debunk Climate Misinformation | John Cook, University of Melbourne |
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| 10:40am | Trust-sensitive design for responsible AI | Melanie McGrath, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 11:00am | Morning Tea | ||
| 11:30am |
Design Sprint Climate Solutions Design Sprint |
Claire Naughtin, CSIRO’s Data61 | |
| 1:00pm | Networking Lunch & Showcase |
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| Innovation Talks |
Parallel sessions |
|
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| Session 4 | Agriculture and Critical Infrastructure |
Mahesh Prakash |
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| 2:00pm | Does a farmer want AI? Co-designing a trusted AI agronomist |
Sarah Hartman, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 2:20pm | The Agrifood Systems Climate Explorer (ASCE) for Samoa: An Interdisciplinary Platform for Climate Resilient Food System Planning |
Nandini Ramesh, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| 2:40pm | How do we translate climate information into financial insights for a range of decision-makers? | Geoffery Lee, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| Session 5 | Agriculture and Energy |
Willow Hallgren |
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| 2:00pm | Using machine learning to support adaptation in the agricultural sector in Australia | Elisabeth Vogel, Water Research Centre, University of New South Wales |
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| 2:20pm | Machine learning projection of climate and technology impacts on crops key to food security | Dan Li, CSIRO |
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| 2:40pm | Spark – Data driven wildfire modelling |
Will Swedosh, CSIRO’s Data61 |
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| Session 6 | Health and Emergency Management |
Sarah Downing |
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| 2:00pm | Using AI to support bushfire tactical response in a changing climate. | Tim Gazzard, Forest Fire Management Victoria |
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| 2:20pm | Have your cake and eat it too! Using metamodels and machine learning to optimise bushfire risk management | Douglas Radford, The University of Adelaide |
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| 2:40pm | Projecting future climate impact on influenza infection in Australia | Dr Aminath Shausan, CSIRO |
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| 3:00pm | Afternoon Tea |
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| 3:30pm | Top 3 Pitch Competition |
Dr Cara Stitzlein, CSIRO Data61 |
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| 4:00pm |
Panel Discussion Turning Insights into Impact: Post Symposium Opportunities Facilitated by Alex Blauensteiner, CSIRO |
Professor Willem Vervoort Data Analytics for Resources & Environments Dr Judith Landsberg Australian Climate Service Marthie Grobler, CSIRO Alina Jurcola, Climate Leadership Coalition |
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| 4:45pm | Symposium Closing Remarks | Gary Delaney, CSIRO’s Data61 | |
| 5:00pm | Symposium Concludes |
