Climate Risk & Response: A behavioral challenge?

The Institute of Sustainability Psychology at the School of Sustainability cordially invites you to a talk by Ben Newell.

Date: Wednesday, May 13 2026
Time: 02.00 p.m.
Location: Lecture Hall 3 (HS 3)

Abstract: Climate risk is often broken down into three separate components: physical risks, transition risks, and liability risks. Our responses to all three of these components benefits immensely from an improved understanding of behavioural reactions to climate change.

In this talk Ben Newell will present a range of studies on individual and institutional-level responses that provide insight on the psychological impacts of physical risk, the preferences for and impacts of different kinds of transition risk, and the potential effectiveness of assessing and disclosing liability risks on changing behaviour. All while emphasizing the importance of interdisciplinary approaches to addressing the behaviour-climate challenge.

Ben Newell is a Professor in the School of Psychology at UNSW Sydney and Director of the UNSW Institute for Climate Risk & Response (ICRR). He is a member of the Academic Advisory Panel of the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA), and was part of the Chief Medical Officer’s advisory group for the National Health and Climate Strategy and is a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. His research focuses on the cognitive processes underlying judgment, choice and decision-making in general and specific to climate change.