ADAPTING to climate change is recognised as one of the greatest challenges to the future of the dairy industry, so there is a need for increased focus on climate change action.
"We need to ramp up the scale and pace of change and place more attention on bigger, bolder ambitions to address the risks associated with a changing climate as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions across our industry," Dairy Australia's general manager, farm profit and capability Greg Jarman said.
"There is increasing pressure on industry from investors, banks, customers, trading partners and the community to demonstrate how we are part of the solution to this global issue. Our ongoing 'right to farm' will depend on how well we respond to challenges and take a proactive leadership role in demonstrating real and tangible results.
"There is also greater awareness that we need to better understand and plan for the longer term (10-plus years) to seize climate change opportunities, such as carbon markets, and mitigate further risks that affect the industry and its supply chain."
With additional investment, Dairy Australia will develop initiatives to assist farm businesses to assess value, risk, liabilities and steps to enter into carbon markets. This will provide a comprehensive understanding of the cost of emission measurement across farm systems that, when applied, lead to emission reduction. Dairy Australia will also provide access to a trusted group of advisers who can facilitate participation in a carbon market, helping make it easier for farmers to enter this market.
Dairy Australia will also invest in large-scale initiatives to address major climate risks over the next decade. This includes removing barriers so that farms can proactively and rapidly adapt practices on-farm, through a combination of central co-ordination and regional delivery.
Part of being prepared for the future challenges requires long-term climate scenario planning linked with on-farm adaptation goals and actions. Additional investment would allow Dairy Australia to work with state governments and other industry partners to quantify the magnitude of climate change-related impacts on farm, to better understand the scale and pace of adaptive measures required, so that it can ensure the dairy industry proactively mitigates climate change risks.
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