Our Story

In 2006, Nobel Laureate and former US Vice President Al Gore got the world talking about climate change with his Academy Award-winning film An Inconvenient Truth.  

 It was just the beginning of a climate revolution. Later that year, he founded what would become, The Climate Reality Project to move the conversation forward and turn awareness into action all across the Earth. This resulted in 45,229 Climate Reality Leaders mobilising communities in over 190 countries. It has branches in 12 critical nations and regions.  

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We are Climate Reality Australia & Pacific

Launched in 2006, The Climate Reality Project - Australia and Pacific works to turn the growing awareness of the danger of climate change into support for action.  
 
People across Australia and the Blue Pacific know all too well what it means to live with the impacts of climate change, with devastating bushfires, heatwaves, cyclones, rising sea levels and warming oceans impacting on communities and ecosystems. 
 
The branch focuses on connecting climate to the lives of people across the region, offering trained leaders wide-ranging workshops and leadership opportunities. Thanks to these efforts, more than one in 40 Australians have seen a Climate Reality presentation, helping drive greater public awareness of solutions. As of 2023 we are a network of 2448 trained leaders working both independently and together to realise a healthy and safe climate, and a thriving net-zero economy. 
 
The Climate Reality Project - Australia and Pacific is committed to fostering an environment in which the relationship between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their fellow Australians is characterised by deep mutual respect, leading to positive change in our nation’s culture and capacity. 

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Branch Manager

Imogen Butler

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Host Organisation

The University of Melbourne

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Number of Climate Reality Leaders

2448

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Our Team

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Don Henry AM

Melbourne Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism

Professor Don Henry AM is based in The University of Melbourne as the ‘Melbourne Enterprise Professor of Environmentalism.’ Don directs the TCRP Australia Pacific program and is an international Board Member of The Climate Reality Project. Don's role is to stimulate and enhance public debate and policy by working with researchers, government, civil society, global institutions, and business. He provides leadership in the fields of environmental policy development and reform, climate change, and sustainability.

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In 2018 Don was awarded an Order of Australia (AM) for his work in protecting Australia's native wildlife and environment.

His current engagement program is to support implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change, negotiated by the global community in December 2015. This work aims to encourage greater ambition in its implementation and to build support for strengthened national commitments. Don and his team are highlighting the role of key strategic countries in the implementation of the Agreement, such as India, the Philippines, Indonesia, China, Australia, South Africa and Brazil.

Don is also leading work examining and encouraging Indigenous and conservation outcomes in Northern Australia and collaborative processes for forest protection and sustainable use in Victoria and Tasmania.

Previously Don has been CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation and WWF Australia, a Director of WWF US and the Wildlife Preservation Society of Queensland.

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Imogen Butler

Manager, Australia and Pacific branch

Imogen (she/her) grew up in Naarm (Melbourne, Australia) and found her passion for socio-environmental action when she was staying with a local family in the Ecuadorian Amazon Rainforest 14 years ago. Since then, Imogen has been volunteering, and working extensively in the not-for-profit sector on environmental campaigns with a common focus on community engagement and social innovation.

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Prior to joining the Australia & Pacific branch of The Climate Reality Project as a Project Officer in 2021, Imogen was researching zero-carbon manufacturing pathways for Australian industries with Beyond Zero Emissions. She has delivered communications for a series of high-profile climate action campaigns, including the ‘Million Jobs Plan,’ an initiative which shows how Australia can create millions of jobs through green stimulus.

As an active ally in the climate justice movement, Imogen believes in empowering a fully voiced response to anthropogenic climate change. Her mission is to elevate the voices of communities and persons at the frontline of climate impacts, particularly those who have previously been excluded from climate change discourses.

Imogen is qualified with a MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance from the University of Oxford (UK) and a Bachelor of Environment and Society at RMIT University (AU).

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DR Nabreesa Murphy

Project Officer

Nabreesa grew up in the Maldives and has lived and worked in the UK and Australia. Leaving her family and country at the age of 15 to live in the Global North has deepened her appreciation of how a sense of connection to land, ocean and community can influence our health, identity, and wellbeing. Her work is driven by a passion for advancing health, human rights, equity, and justice.

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Nabreesa worked as a medical doctor in the UK, and a public health and human rights practitioner and social researcher in Australia. She has volunteered with the Australian Red Cross and worked with The International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF), with a focus on human rights, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and emergency and disaster response and recovery. Her experiences have strengthened her belief that we need to break down siloes to advance transformative climate action. Nabreesa is committed to working in partnership with communities and grassroots organisations and those with lived experience and expertise of climate impacts, to influence climate resilient, sustainable, just policies.

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Karen Aguilera

Advocacy & Engagement Lead

Karen is passionate about community building and grassroots-led climate solutions. She works in the area of community democracy, studies the impact the climate crisis is having in Australia’s system of government, and writes about regenerative politics.

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Karen is fascinated by the fields of deep ecology and systems thinking and credits the organisation Tompkins Conservation for sparking a keen interest in rewilding conservation. Karen completed her Climate Reality Leadership Training in 2021 and brings with her a wealth of experience and passion for climate advocacy.

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Anna Haines

Communications & Engagement Lead

Anna is a communications specialist with over 15 years of experience across the non-profit, sustainability, higher education, leisure, sports, and travel sectors. Before joining the Climate Reality Australia & Pacific branch, Anna served as the Head of Communications at Sports Environment Alliance (AU). In this role, she formulated and executed a range of communications strategies and campaigns with a specific focus on amplifying the imperative for climate action within the sector.

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Anna is a firm believer in climate communication techniques that harness the power of storytelling to ignite change. On a personal level, her commitment extends to nurturing a sustainable future for all, particularly for upcoming generations. Anna is qualified with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications (Journalism) from the University of Technology, Sydney, which she earned in 2010.

We are co-hosted with:

Melbourne Climate Futures

Melbourne Climate Futures (MCF) connects and amplifies the depth and breadth of University of Melbourne research, creates a portal to share ideas and collaborate on real action, and empowers the next generation of climate activists.

"We are committed to leading our national, regional and global communities to a sustainable, safe, fair and equitable climate future"