LIVE Webinar: Climate Change, Choices, Agriculture and the Adaptation Imperative

Speaker: Dr. Bruce McCarl, TAMU

Wednesday, June 3, 2015
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM ET
Live Webinar at USDA in Washington, DC

Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/6456972560961360898

The connection between climate change and agriculture is multifaceted. A major assertion in the 2014 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the 2014 National Climate Assessment by the U.S. Global Change Research Program reports is that climate change is already affecting agricultural productivity and adaptation is occurring in response. Evidence suggests that these effects are spatially heterogeneous and are likely to intensify in the next century. In a recent theme presented by the Agricultural & Applied Economics Association's Choices Magazine addresses some of the controversies, imperatives and unmet expectations that have arisen in the last decade related to agricultural and climate change in addition to the challenges that lie ahead.

During the live June 3rd webinar, Dr. Bruce McCarl, of Texas A&M University's Department of Agricultural Economics, will provide greater insights into the economics of agricultural adaptation to changes in our nation's climate. Adaptation is defined as the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects. Adaptations can involve actions that alter management, infrastructure, technology, information, education, institutions, norms, behavior, emergency response, and public assistance (IPCC, 2014). There are also natural adaptations with, for example, birds, pests, and fish moving their geographic range, or ecosystems changing to accommodate an altered climate (IPCC, 2014). Dr. McCarl will review the methods and motivations for agricultural adaptation efforts, as well as potential strategies and roles of public versus private entities.

Biography

BRUCE A. MCCARL is University Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. Dr. McCarl works on economic implications of global climate change, greenhouse gas emission reduction and water allocation/policy plus on applications of optimization theory. He has been involved with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change being a lead author of the IPCC 2007 Agricultural Mitigation chapter plus the 2014 Economics of Adaptation chapter and the summary for policy makers. He has done numerous analyses of the US effects of climate change incidence, mitigation and adaptation plus was on the National Academy of Science Panel on America's Climate Choices. He is a Fellow of the Agricultural and Applied Economics Association and was a participant in the IPCC 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.

2015 Choices Theme

• Theme Overview: Revisiting the Evidence and Potential Solutions on Climate Change
  Bruce A. McCarl and Brian C. Murray
• Climate Change, Vulnerability and Food Insecurity
  John M. Antle
• Climate Change Impacts on U.S. Crops
  Elodie Blanc and John Reilly
• The Inevitability of Climate Adaptation in U.S. Agriculture
  Steven K. Rose
• Elaborations on Climate Adaptation in U.S. Agriculture
  Bruce A. McCarl
• Why Have Carbon Markets Not Delivered Agricultural Emission Reductions in the United States?
  Brian C. Murray
• GHG Mitigation in the Absence of a National Carbon Market
  Jan Lewandrowski and Kathryn Zook