Phillipa McCormack

Dr. Phillipa McCormack is an Adjunct Lecturer at the School of Law, University of Tasmania (UTAS), and a Future Making Fellow at the interdisciplinary Environment Institute and Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide. A leading environmental law and climate adaptation scholar, her research focuses on law and policy frameworks for biodiversity conservation, climate change adaptation, and evolving bushfire regimes in Australia.

Phillipa’s work is highly interdisciplinary, with collaborations spanning global institutions. Key research themes include:

• Adapting legal frameworks to address climate-driven biodiversity loss
• Comparative analysis of bushfire governance in Australia and the United States
• Integrating climate change into environmental and employment law
• Advancing ecosystem restoration through legal instruments
• Interdisciplinary approaches to human-wildlife conflict

Recent publications highlight emerging trends in:

• Climate adaptation law for marine and coastal restoration
• Greenwashing regulatory reforms in energy and natural resources
• EPBC Act reform as cyclical policy stagnation
• Fire shelter policy barriers in bushfire-prone regions
• Conservation covenant innovations for global biodiversity challenges

Scientific Awards & Grants:

• Inaugural Early Career Research Fellow, Natural Hazards Research Australia (2022)
• Second Fellowship, Natural Hazards Research Australia (2023)
• Peer Prize for Women (2017) for climate-driven species redistribution research
• Spencer Foundation Grant (2024): Youth climate education models
• UTAS Internal Funding (2019): Bushfire governance mapping
• Australian Department of Environment Grant (2019): Negative emissions technologies

Dr. McCormack supervises doctoral students, including Jennifer Mary Boocock (completed 2024) on public health adaptation law. She actively contributes to environmental law discourse through editorial board roles (Frontiers in Climate: Law & Policy, Journal of International Wildlife Law & Policy) and governance positions (NRM South, International Association of Wildland Fire DEI Committee).