Climate change in rural and regional Australia.

This report aims to assist rural and regional Australia manage the impacts of climate change, harness the benefits of greenhouse emissions reductions and sustain natural resources for the long term.  Agriculture and forestry cover 60 per cent of the Australian continent. Economic activities stemming from these industries create wealth, regional prosperity, and social richness.  Day-to-day or year-to-year variations in climate are a normal part of managing the Australian landscape. Much is known about the way these variations influence productivity, sustainability and regional prosperity over relatively short timeframes; and we understand the risks. Climate change, however, turns this around. Concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are continuing to increase as a result of human actions. A future Australia will be warmer, mostly drier, and likely subject to more extreme weather events such as storms, drought and floods. The agriculture and forestry industries will need to manage additional climate risks, especially over the medium to longer term.