Peanuts have moved north, tuna has moved east, wine has moved south. But sooner or later, Australia is going to run out of places to shift agricultural production to avoid the harsh effects of climate change.
Australia's flagship scientific body told the Reuters Global
Climate Change Summit on Wednesday that it is therefore critical for companies
to consider both mitigation and adaption measures now.
"We have to act very soon on mitigation, reducing carbon
dioxide in the atmosphere, and adaptation," the Commonwealth Scientific
and Industrial Research Organization's (CSIRO) Science Director for Climate
Adaption Mark Stafford Smith said in an interview in Sydney.
Climate change is a major threat to food security in a country
that has talked about becoming a "food bowl" for Asia. It also
complicates a government plan to increase agricultural production to meet an
expected doubling in global food demand by 2050.
As the only developed nation dominated by an arid climate,
Stafford Smith said, Australia faces more variability in rainfall, prolonged
droughts and a greater incidence of extreme weather events.
