The opening plenary talk was given by Enterprise Professor Bruce Pascoe, Author and Professor at the University of Melbourne.

The session was opened by Professor David Schlosberg, Director of the Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney. Yvonne Weldon, Chair of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council, gave a Welcome to Country. Anna-Maria Arabia, Chief Executive of the Australian Academy of Science, and Professor Duncan Ivison, Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), University of Sydney, also opened the session.

Knowledge Systems Across Australia’s First Nations People

Chair: Professor Melissa Haswell, Office of DVC (Indigenous Strategy and Services), University of Sydney

Panelists:

• Professor Jakelin Troy, Director of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research, University of Sydney
• Dr Chels Marshall, PhD Researcher, Australian National University
• Associate Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher, School for Geography, University of Melbourne
• Maxie Archer, HDR Student, University of Sydney
• Phoebe Evans, HDR Student, University of Sydney
• Rameen Malik, HDR Student, University of Sydney

Knowledge Systems Across Oceania

Chair: Dr Christine Winter, Postdoctoral Researcher, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney

Panelists:

• Mark Stege, Researcher and Consultant, Marshall Islands
• Dr Meg Parsons, Faculty of Science, University of Auckland
• Dr Tammy Tabe, Lecturer, University of the South Pacific

Knowledges and Transformative Adaptation

Chair: Professor David Schlosberg, Director, Sydney Environment Institute, University of Sydney

• Tammi Jonas, President, Australian Food Sovereignty Alliance
• Dr Georgina Woods, Founder, Hunter Jobs Alliance
• Professor Lauren Rickards, School of Global, Urban and Social Sciences, RMIT University

The plenary speaker was Dr Marcelo Mena Carrasco, Director of the Climate Action Centre at Pontific Catholic University of Valparaiso, and Minister for Environment of the Government of Chile from 2014-2018. The chair of this talk was Dr Tayanah O'Donnell, Director of Future Earth Australia.

Financing and Tackling Risk

Chair: Dr Taryn Laubenstein, Research and Policy Officer, Future Earth Australia

Panelists:

• Crystal Fleming, Adaptation Lead, Investor Group on Climate Change
• Zoe Whitton, Executive Director, Pollination Group
• Dr Ian Fry, International Climate Policy Specialist, Australian National University
• Chris Croker, Managing Director and Founder, Impact Investment Partners

Who Does What and How?

Chair: Dr Tayanah O'Donnell, Director of Future Earth Australia

Panelists:

• Adrian Turner, CEO, Minderoo Fire and Flood Resilience Initiative
• Mark Crosweller, Emergency Management Government Advisor, and Director of Ethical Intelligence
• Kate Mackenzie, Climate Specialist, Writer and Consultant
• Simon Holmes a Court, Senior Advisor, Climate and Energy College, University of Melbourne

Frameworks to Enable Success

Chair: Eleanor Robson, Research and Policy Officer, Future Earth Australia

Panelists:

• Ketan Joshi, Climate Mitigation Specialist, Author, and Communicator
• Dorean Erhart, Climate Adaptation Specialist, Linden Consulting, and Former manager, Queensland Climate Resilient Councils Program, Local Government Association of Queensland
• Katie Eberle, Manager of International Climate Partnerships, Department of Industry, Science, Energy and Resources
• Professor Kate Auty, Chair, Victorian Environment Protection Authority, and Former Commissioner of Sustainability, ACT Government

The plenary speaker was The Honorable Lily D'Ambrosio MP, Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change of the Victorian Government. The chair of this session was Professor Juan Francisco Salazar of the Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University.

Climate Adaptation Futures

Chair: Professor Juan Francisco Salazar, Institute for Culture and Society, Western Sydney University

Panelists:

• Cr Mark Greenhill, Mayor, City of the Blue Mountains
• Dr Russ Wise, Sustainability Economist, CSIRO
• Professor Jean Palutikof, Former Director, National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, Griffith University
• Professor Lesley Head, President, Australian Academy of the Humanities

Adaptation at Scale

Chair: Associate Professor Louise Crabtree-Hayes, Principal Research Fellow, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Western Sydney 

Panelists:

• Professor Petra Tschakert, Adaptation Specialist, University of Western Australia
• Scott Hickman, Coordinator, Mid-Lachlan Landcare
• Joe Morrison, CEO, Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation
• David Tucker, Chief of Infrastructure Assessment, Infrastructure Australia

Transitions and Transformation

Chair: Dr Tayanah O'Donnell, Director of Future Earth Australia

Panelists:

• Hillary Montague, National Campaigner, Australian Youth Climate Coalition
• Cr Declan Clausen, Deputy Mayor, City of Newcastle
• Professor Mark Howden, Director, ANU Climate Change Institute
• Dr Sophie Webber, Human Geographer, University of Sydney

The plenary speaker was Dr Gayle Schueller, Vice President and Chief of Sustainability of 3M. The chair of this session was Dr Tayanah O'Donnell, Director of Future Earth Australia.