ECONOMY
Adaptation is embracing the circular economy by redesigning processes, recycling waste materials and water, and generating local renewable energy.
A changing climate drives changes to the regional economy, which can be forced upon unprepared businesses and used opportunistically by others. Many now see the cost-effectiveness of taking action to mitigate and adapt to climate change, despite lack of policy certainty and government incentives. How the Grampians Region can manage these changes will be a major factor in determining the quality of the Region’s adaptive efforts overall.
Adaptation plans and actions already underway | Lead agency |
Community-owned energy | Hepburn Wind, Natimuk Community Energy |
Onsite energy generation eg. solar, biomass | Gekko Systems, McCain, Meredith Dairy, Trigg Farm, Berrybank Farm, Beaufort Hospital, Skipton Hospital, Frew Foods and others |
Power purchase agreements (PPAs) | Mars with Kiamal Solar Farm, Melbourne Renewable Energy Project with Crowlands and Yaloak South wind farms |
Public-private partnerships | Eg. Longerenong DATA Farm, Grains Innovation Park |
Crop substitution with more climate-tolerant grape varieties | Wine industry |
Cultivation of indigenous foods | |
Guidance notes for governance of climate risk | RBA, ASIC, APRA |
Insurance accessibility and cost implications for not addressing climate risk to business | Insurance companies |
| Grampians Regional Roadmap to Net Zero Emissions (R2Z) | Grampians New Energy Taskforce |
Leading opportunities
- Regional processing of agricultural product.
- Onsite energy generation with solar panels, methane recovery (eg landfill) and/or bioenergy.
- Upgrades to improve thermal efficiency and reduce energy use/cost of buildings.
- Use of recycled water.
- Power purchase agreements (PPAs) with local renewable energy developments.
- Resource-efficient food production systems.
- Grow artisanal food sector and community supported agriculture.
- Microgrids and virtual power plants.
- Municipal Recovery Facility (MRF) to sort and process recyclable materials regionally.
- Develop markets for waste products and recycling
- Spending by governments in response to the pandemic should consider climate implications.
- Circular economy food hub as outlined in the R2Z.
Main barriers
- Limited access to affordable energy sources and long-term price agreements.
- Limited electricity grid infrastructure capacity.
- The vulnerability of electricity supply to outages and impacts on worker productivity during heatwaves.
- Large distances make transporting materials and goods costly and unviable.
- Proportional regulatory requirements around food safety.
- Thermally inefficient commercial premises.
- Lack of regulatory requirements to incorporate climate adaptation measures in new buildings, including thermal efficiency and solar power.
- The scale of economic upheaval in response to external shocks and trade policies may limit the capacity to invest in further economic reform.
- Partisanship and “culture wars” may have reduced Australia’s ability to cooperate in innovative responses to changing circumstances.
Charlotte Turner from Minter Ellison speaks about finance, business risk and insurability.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the First Nations Peoples of the land and waters that we live, care and work upon within the Grampians Region. We respect the continuous culture that has been embedded into history for thousands of years. We pay our respects to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
