The climate change SA symposium 2013: A synthesis

In October 2013 the Royal Society of South Australia held a symposium on the topic of climate change. This reprised the Society’s previous symposium on the topic 20 years previously and provided a forum for reflection on the changes to climate change science that have occurred since 1993. A number of presentations were given, spanning three topic areas: (i) climate change science and adaptation, (ii) impacts on soils and water, and (iii) impacts on urban ecology and human health. In contrast to the 1993 symposium which was largely predictive of future impacts, the 2013 speakers focussed on current and future mitigation and adaptation strategies. The complex interplay between biophysical and social systems and the need to understand this to enable adaptation and response to climate change were also highlighted.