Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to ....Innovation in agricultural sector Green House Gas abatement in NSW. This project aims to develop a land sector greenhouse gas abatement, food production and environmental economics model for NSW. We expect to identify innovation in carbon payment policy and brokerage business models to achieve agricultural GHG abatement, while simultaneously improving sustainability. Expected outcomes include evaluation of the innovations of expert landholders, related businesses and governments to find ways to influence land use decisions. This should provide significant benefits to landholders, governments involved in land management and the public through increased productivity, profitability, biodiversity and ecosystem health in the context of future climate, agricultural commodity and carbon market uncertainties.Read moreRead less
Adaptation to carbon-tax-induced changes in energy demand in rural and regional Australia. The Clean Energy Bills will create a more sustainable environment but have a large impact on energy sectors. This project models the impact of the carbon tax and the responses of energy sectors.
Integrating Economic Valuation and Water Quality Modelling for Improving Management of Coastal Catchments. This project will apply and integrate water quality models and economic assessment techniques to assist policy makers and catchment managers balance competing development pressures and environmental concerns in coastal catchments. The research is fundamental to underpinning the sustainable management of coastal catchments which provide major economic, environmental and community benefits. T ....Integrating Economic Valuation and Water Quality Modelling for Improving Management of Coastal Catchments. This project will apply and integrate water quality models and economic assessment techniques to assist policy makers and catchment managers balance competing development pressures and environmental concerns in coastal catchments. The research is fundamental to underpinning the sustainable management of coastal catchments which provide major economic, environmental and community benefits. The project will provide robust tools to predict water quality impacts under a range of conditions and it will develop techniques for the economic valuation of market and non-market impacts. The project will demonstrate the integration of water quality and economic modelling and how it can influence policy and investment in conservation and remediation.Read moreRead less
Understanding and predicting sediment distribution and net transport in estuaries and coastal oceans with an emphasis on muddy bottom layers. This project will design and implement a field campaign to observe fluid mud layers in the muddy harbours and develop predictive models to investigate these layers. This research will give new direction to port management by developing adaptive tools to solve water quality and siltation problems in muddy ports and harbours in Australia.
A pilot study to demonstrate the use of 15N tracers for determining the flow of nitrogen through lower food webs. This project will have a significant impact on the way wetland wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTR) facilities are constructed in the future. Addressing the key biochemical issues to WWTR systems this study will facilitate improved construction design and management to optimise treatment performance. As National Priority One Area, sustainable water use and the efficiency of WWTR sys ....A pilot study to demonstrate the use of 15N tracers for determining the flow of nitrogen through lower food webs. This project will have a significant impact on the way wetland wastewater treatment and reuse (WWTR) facilities are constructed in the future. Addressing the key biochemical issues to WWTR systems this study will facilitate improved construction design and management to optimise treatment performance. As National Priority One Area, sustainable water use and the efficiency of WWTR systems is fundamental to our economic and social development. The results gleaned from this study will assist in the future design of WWTR systems that will be transferable outside the local study area and as such be of potential benefit both Nationally and internationally.Read moreRead less
Economic Analysis of an Environmental Challenge: Salinity, Uncertainty and Property. The applicability of standard property-rights solutions to complex environmental issues such as salinity is examined. Water and carbon trading, as well as issues relating to agricultural land management are addressed. In particular, the use of price instruments as a potentially more attractive mechanism than standard quantity instruments for achieving desirable outcomes is examined. The project will exploit and ....Economic Analysis of an Environmental Challenge: Salinity, Uncertainty and Property. The applicability of standard property-rights solutions to complex environmental issues such as salinity is examined. Water and carbon trading, as well as issues relating to agricultural land management are addressed. In particular, the use of price instruments as a potentially more attractive mechanism than standard quantity instruments for achieving desirable outcomes is examined. The project will exploit and extend recent theoretical developments in modelling under conditions of uncertainty, and the use of price and quantity instruments in regulatory contexts.Read moreRead less
Emissions trading and the design and operation of Australia's energy markets. Past research has applied the methods of experimental economics to focus on capacity markets, futures markets, and demand side response management options for electricity markets in the United States of America. This project will examine research priorities for Australia's energy markets. These include market impacts on investment decision-making, trade in Renewable Energy Certificates, and the consequences of carbon e ....Emissions trading and the design and operation of Australia's energy markets. Past research has applied the methods of experimental economics to focus on capacity markets, futures markets, and demand side response management options for electricity markets in the United States of America. This project will examine research priorities for Australia's energy markets. These include market impacts on investment decision-making, trade in Renewable Energy Certificates, and the consequences of carbon emissions trading for energy market outcomes. Australia's electricity markets are primarily financial markets and new policy developments present both risks and opportunities. By designing and testing markets, experiments will be used to test market performance and for unforeseen consequences of new market policies.Read moreRead less
An investigation of the impacts of increased power supply to the national grid by wind generators on the Australian electricity industry. The aim of this project is to discover the most economical and effective way to accommodate large increases in wind power into the national grid and to understand the effects on the national electricity market. This is crucial to ensure stability of electricity supply and affordable prices in the transition towards a low carbon economy.
Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservat ....Identifying cost-effective reforestation approaches for biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration in the Australian wet tropics. There is great potential for rainforest reforestation to help in the protection of Australia's tropical flora and fauna. Little is known, however, about how to reforest pasture to rainforest for the purpose of maximising the recovery of native biodiversity. We propose a unique experimental study of rainforest reforestation practices with biodiversity conservation as a primary goal. Reforestation is currently an unlikely option for most landholders in Australia's tropics given the lack of data on the economic benefits obtainable from such efforts. Our study examines the profits obtainable through the carbon market for each reforestation approach with the goal of increasing the feasibility of rainforest reforestation in North Queensland.Read moreRead less
Development of a novel Ecological Footprint for environmental reporting of companies. The aim of the project is to develop a novel Ecological Footprint concept to be applied at the company level to Sydney Water Corporation, an urban water services provider. The project will address major methodological limitations of the existing national EF concept by using regionalised input-output analysis. The outcome will be a sound, comprehensive, quantitative, reproducible, transparent and reliable EF met ....Development of a novel Ecological Footprint for environmental reporting of companies. The aim of the project is to develop a novel Ecological Footprint concept to be applied at the company level to Sydney Water Corporation, an urban water services provider. The project will address major methodological limitations of the existing national EF concept by using regionalised input-output analysis. The outcome will be a sound, comprehensive, quantitative, reproducible, transparent and reliable EF method. This new method will be an effective environmental reporting and communications tool for Sydney Water. Its value is greatly increased by the fact that it will be a generic approach to environmental reporting for any economic entity.Read moreRead less