The future prosperity of Australia will depend on embracing new technology to address critical national challenges.
The Academy has identified six key priorities for an incoming federal government, where immediate action will result in significant benefit to Australia.
We will profile one priority a week through the campaign. This week’s priority is Climate Change and Sustainability.
ENERGY
Urgently accelerate Australia’s transition to low-emission energy generation through:
- Ongoing support for the Northern Australia Infrastructure Fund, ARENA, and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation;
- Investing in national energy storage technologies to improve electricity grid stability and security; and
- Developing economic opportunities through leadership in low emission technologies – examples include adoption of a National Hydrogen Strategy through COAG, and supplying value-added raw materials for energy storage technologies.
WATER
Work with the states and territories to develop a new decadal strategy for national water management, which includes:
- An integrated plan for the water, food, energy and environment sectors; and
- The use of the Internet of Things to provide real-time, information-based management systems.
AGRICULTURE
Drive change in agricultural practices to reduce greenhouse emissions intensity and increase net carbon sequestration in the land sector including:
- Investing in farm-scale climate modelling and seasonal forecasting systems to better guide adaptation responses; and
- The use of big data, to develop new and modified farming systems to optimise production and resource use across the sector.
You can download all six of the Academy’s election priorities below.
