- The Australian Cotton Industry has a high capacity to respond to the challenges posed by climate change as a result of its R&D investments which have enabled it to maintain high rates of annual productivity gain, continuous improvement to input efficiencies and adoption of its own world recognised environmental management program
- The Australian Greenhouse Office has estimated that the cotton industry contributed 0.3% of Australian Agriculture’s (0.01% of Australia’s) greenhouse emissions in 2005 and that the major source of its emissions are from fertiliser (see Figure from AGO)
- Australia has led the world in accurately measuring in-field greenhouse emissions in irrigated cotton systems. Results from this research, jointly funded by the Cotton Research & Development Corporation (CRDC) and the Australian Greenhouse Office, indicate the average level of Nitrous Oxide (the primary greenhouse gas in Australian cotton cropping) is 0.5% of applied Nitrogen. This figure is well below the IPCC default figure of 1.25%, allowing Australia to more accurately report to the UN on its emissions from cotton and highlighting the value of well targeted investment partnerships in research
- Cotton is an annual crop grown in regions which experience climate variability extremes driven by El Nino/La Nina cycles. Consequently cotton growers have already developed highly efficient and flexible farming systems that can be further enhanced to meet additional future climate change induced challenges
- CRDC is contributing to the development of the Climate Change Research Strategy for Primary Industries which is currently being prepared and will be presented to the Council of Rural Research and Development Corporations Chairs and the Primary Industries Standing Committee in March 2008
