Climate Change, Industrial Structure and the Knowledge Economy

Contributions to Emissions The agricultural sector (excluding land clearing) contributed around 20 per cent of Australia’s net greenhouse gas emissions in 1996 (Commonwealth of Australia, 1998). The main sources of these emissions were methane from the digestive systems of cattle and sheep and nitrous oxide from soils (the latter in part associated with fertiliser use). Vegetation clearance for agriculture is a further important contributor to Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. At present the current rate of land clearing for agriculture is in excess of the rate of revegetation occurring in Australia., implying a net positive contribution to global warming emissions. The forestry sector also has an important influence on greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon dioxide removal occurs as a result of increased vegetation and the expansion of production forestry can be an important means of offsetting some of emissions enhancing effects of the primary sector. If we consider both food and non-food agriculture resulting from the advanced manipulation of organisms (in particular), output from the agricultural sector is likely to increase quite significantl