One approach to rationalising policies for addressing potentially catastrophic climate change when such policies may prove unnecessary is to suppose the policies provide a form of social insurance even in the presence of pure uncertainty. Then, provided the policies are effective, such insurance...

Australian crop and livestock farmers face uncertain climate change and variability and a challenge for adaptation decisions. These decisions can be (1) adjustments to practices and technologies, (2) changes to production systems, or (3) transformation of industries, for example, by relocation...

The emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide, and the consequent potential for climate change are the focus of increasing international concern. Eventually, an international agreement will likely be enacted to reduce greenhouse gas emission levels and assign rules for emission...

Economic evaluation of climate policy is notoriously dependent on assumptions about time and risk preferences, since reducing greenhouse gas emissions today has a highly uncertain payoff, far into the future. These assumptions have always been much debated. Rather than occupy a position in this...

In the last decade, the Murray-Darling Basin (MDB), Australia faced a severe drought which affected its agriculture production. Sustainable diversion limits as proposed in the Australian Government’s basin plan together with climate change is expected to impact on future agriculture production...

The current global food crisis presents a puzzle, thus raising concerns among researchers and policymakers. A number of causes have been identified. However, the relative importance of each factor is still uncertain. In this study, the link between food prices and the various interconnected...

Dryland farming is commonplace in Australia so the profitability of dryland farms often depends on the amount and timing of rainfall. With drier weather conditions featuring in climate change projections for southern Australia, it is important to understand the relationships between rainfall,...

Previous research has demonstrated that religious persuasion can have an impact on environmental attitudes, however less research of this kind has focused on the relationship between religious persuasion and climate change attitudes. Using a survey of 1,927 Australians we examined links between...

In response to increasing awareness of climate change, the Howard government implemented the Mandatory Renewable Energy Target (MRET) in 2001. It requires electricity wholesalers to source an additional 9500 GWh of electricity from renewable sources by 2010. Electricity wholesalers are required...

Down-scaled global circulation modelling is combined with wheat growth simulation modelling to generate yield responses to times of sowing under current and projected climatic conditions for several locations in the grainbelt of Western Australia. A model for investment in crop sowing machinery...