The first coffee morning talk of 2026 will explore how urban climate adaptation unfolds in practice

Join us every Thursday morning, either in-person from 10.45am or online from 11am, to hear about new environmental, climate and sustainability research and initiatives from UCD and beyond.

To kick off this year's programme of coffee morning talks, we are delighted to be joined by Iresh Jayawardena, senior lecturer in urban planning in Waipapa Taumata Rau/The University of Auckland, Aotearoa/New Zealand who is currently visiting UCD. His research talk is entitled Red Stickers, Rising Waters: Climate risk and urban futures in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Overview

Climate change is no longer a distant risk for cities – it is a lived reality reshaping homes, neighbourhoods, and governance systems. Iresh's talk will explore how urban climate adaptation unfolds in practice, drawing on research from Aotearoa New Zealand following recent extreme flood events. Rather than focusing on technical solutions alone, it will focus on how adaptation decisions intersect with social vulnerability, planning systems, and questions of justice.

By reflecting on post-disaster recovery, risk perception, and community responses to climate change, Iresh aims to highlight why adaptation is as much a social and political challenge as it is an environmental one - and what this means for cities navigating climate uncertainty.

Where and when

• Thursday 22 January
• In-person from 10.45am, Earth Institute kitchen, 4th floor, UCD Science East
• On (opens in a new window)Zoom from 11am