Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries (CCRSPI)

Mark Howden, Michael Robinson, CCRSPI partnersPresentation to LWA Legacy Confrence, Canberra, May 2010, Copyright CSIRO

‘My Country’ - 1904

I love a sunburnt country,

A land of sweeping plains,

Of rugged mountain ranges,

Of droughts and flooding rains.

Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968)

The issue: CO2 emissions, CO2 levels, temperature and sea level at or exceed worst case scenario

Recent emissions

1990 1995 2000 2005 2010

CO

2 E

mis

sion

s (G

tC y

-1)

5

6

7

8

9

10Actual emissions: CDIACActual emissions: EIA450ppm stabilisation650ppm stabilisationA1FI A1B A1T A2 B1 B2

1850 1900 1950 2000 2050 2100C

O2 E

mis

sion

s (G

tC y

-1)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30Actual emissions: CDIAC450ppm stabilisation650ppm stabilisationA1FI A1B A1T A2 B1 B2

20062005

2007

SRES (2000) growth rates in % y -1 for 2000-2010:

A1B: 2.42 A1FI: 2.71A1T: 1.63A2: 2.13B1: 1.79B2: 1.61

Observed 2000-2007 3.5%

Raupach et al. (2007), Canadell et al (2008), Myhre et al. (2009)

2008

The issue: responses

‘The great moral challenge of our generation’Kevin Rudd, 1 January 2007, National Climate Change Summit presentation

• Note that this may, or may not, have been a ‘prepared, scripted, written statement’

Policies & Programs

Universities

CAF

NCCARFSynthesis & Coordination

Applied Research

Strategic Research

Incremental Innovations

Transformational Technology

Whole of system solutions

Department of Climate Change, DAFF

Con

sulta

nts

Universities

CSIRO Climate Adaptation Flagship

NCCARF

State Government Departments

The issue: a crowded climate change research institutional landscape

CCRSPI partners

Primary Industry Ministerial CouncilPrimary Industry Standing CommitteePrimary Industry R&D Sub CommitteePrimary Industries Innovation Centre

Council of Rural Research and Development Corporation ChairsGrains R&D CorporationHorticulture Australia LimitedFisheries R&D CorporationMeat and Livestock AustraliaAustralian Wool Innovation LimitedAustralian Pork LimitedRural Industries R&D CorporationGrape & Wine R&D CorporationLand & Water AustraliaDairy AustraliaSugar R&D CorporationForest and Wood Products AustraliaCotton R&D CorporationAustralian Egg Corporation Limited

Australian Council of Agricultural DeansUniversity of MelbourneQueensland University of Technology

DAFFDPI, VictoriaDPI, New South WalesPrimary Industries and Resources, SADAF, Western AustraliaDPI&F, QueenslandDPIWE, TasmaniaDRDPIFR, Northern Territory

National Farmers FederationAustralian Conservation Foundation CSIRO

CCRSPI objectives

• Develop a national cross-sectoral strategy to drive primary industries RD&E activity in Australia that supports long-term climate-resilient, productive, environmentally and socially sustainable landscapes, and aligns with and underpins the National RDE Framework strategies

• Enhance use of resources to address the national strategy through greater co-ordination and collaboration across primary industry RD&E agencies and existing initiatives

• Represent the primary industry RD&E community’s needs, activities, outputs and outcomes to governments, industry and the broader community

• Provide a communications hub for primary industry RD&E related information and knowledge.

• Provide leadership for the primary industry RD&E community

Themes for national collaboration

• Future climates• Projected climate change, seasonal forecasting

• Managing emissions• NO3, CH4, C: policy, ETS, LCA, accounting

• Preparing industries - Adaptation• eCO2, breeding, tools, building resilience

• Accessing information• nationally consistent, good quality regional and industry specific; myth-busting

• Facilitating change• Vulnerability assessments, drought/EC policy, structural adjustment, building

resilience, capacity building

• Linking decision makers• Strong proactive dialogue between research, industry and policy

Sciencethemes

Enablingthemes

What did CCRSPI achieve ?

• linked primary industry research agencies• developed national strategy, based on input from

science and industry perspectives• significant network of collaboration, co-ordination,

knowledge sharing• central point of contact, source of information and

knowledge to industry, policy, research agencies• co-ordinated research funding applications• represented primary industries research to

government, science and community• informed and aligned many other programs, plans,

strategies and thinking (e.g. the PI Adaptation Research Network)

CCRSPI strategycompleted

• high level strategy• workshops to

foster shared ownership, bring people together

• first RDE activity audit and database

• knowledge gaps re: ETS (AFI)

Component strategies

• Industry strategies• Cross-sectoral strategies (e.g. biosecurity,

biofuels, food and nutrition)• Each with an RDC lead, a PISC lead and an

industry lead– sector overview– current sector resource analysis– future strategic RD&E plan– capability analysis– change plan– approvals– implementation

What did CCRSPI achieve ?

• linked primary industry research agencies• developed national strategy, based on input from

science and industry perspectives• significant network of collaboration, co-ordination,

knowledge sharing• central point of contact, source of information and

knowledge to industry, policy, research agencies• co-ordinated research funding applications• represented primary industries research to

government, science and community• informed and aligned many other programs, plans,

strategies and thinking (e.g. PI Adaptation Research Network)

Several fact sheetscompleted

• Tailored to industry and issue context

Report and book on adapting agriculture

• Varieties, species, planting times

• Residue and water management

• Nutrient management and rotations

• Climate risk management

• Tools/training – dealing with uncertainty, transformation

• Regional development, drought, NRM policies etc

• Maladaptation

• Mitigation

What did CCRSPI achieve ?

• linked primary industry research agencies• developed national strategy, based on input from

science and industry perspectives• significant network of collaboration, co-ordination,

knowledge sharing • central point of contact, source of information and

knowledge to industry, policy, research agencies• co-ordinated research funding applications• represented primary industries research to

government, science and community• informed and aligned many other programs, plans,

strategies and thinking (e.g. PI Adaptation Research Network)

LWA key facilitating characteristics

• ‘neutral’ organisation • not a competing agency for research• partnership approach• high level strategic program and project

management• commitment to innovation• adoption and knowledge management• cross-sectoral focus• national mandate

Some elements of a way ahead

• continue with enhanced research coordination (CCRSPI Phase III, PIARN, NARP, DAFF CCRP etc)

• develop and coordinate integrative research capability and underlying data and toolsets

• move from research domain to user-researcher-policy-public interaction

• synthesis and comparison of adaptation and mitigation activities• consistent information and technologies at scale of decision

– acknowledge that much information is held by users• adaptive governance and other policy arrangements• develop adaptive capacity in users and facilitate adoption

pathways• knowledge management to support an adaptive management

approach – learn and re-learn• communicate, communicate, communicate

– two-way– pragmatic and effective alternatives– links to other initiatives (e.g. the Regional Knowledge Strategy)

‘My country’: our future relationship ?

Core of my heart, my country!Land of the rainbow goldFor flood and fire and famineShe pays us back threefold.

Dorothea Mackellar (1885-1968)

twofold

?

Thank you

Climate Adaptation FlagshipDr Mark HowdenTheme Leader

Phone: +61 2 6242 1679Email: mark.howden@csiro.au

Contact UsPhone: 1300 363 400 Email: Enquiries@csiro.au Web: www.csiro.au

Website: www.csiro.au/org/ClimateAdaptationFlagship

CCRSPI activities

• Representing PI RDE to parliamentary committees, intergovernmental inquiries, the minister, governments and agencies and the broader community;

• Assist coordination of climate change RDE priorities across government agencies• Co-ordinating existing & proposed RDE programs• Development detailed cross sectoral climate change RDE strategy including completing

audit (in conjunction with PIARN)• Develop research themes and theme plans (that align/complement NRDEF strategies and

PIARN)• Harmonise with the NCCARF – National Adaptation Research Plan (NARP) for primary

industries• Run a national conference on climate change in Primary Industries.• Align CCRSPI activities with the Primary Industries Research Adaptation Network,

including strategies to increase research capacity• Identify and invest in new strategic cross-sectoral research to assist industry and programs• Develop strategic communication portal for climate change research and policy in primary

industries• Support and facilitate the full functional input and use by partners of AANRO• Monitor and evaluate RDE activity and the success of coordination (consistent with RDCs

and NREDF)