Unserious greens
OPINION: The Greens aren't serious people when it comes to the economy, so let's not spend too much on their fiscal fantasies.
About 250 economists have registered for the 59th Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society’s (AARES) annual conference.
Chairman of the local conference organising committee and DairyNZ’s senior economist Matthew Newman says the last time New Zealand hosted this major conference was seven years ago.
Distinguished Professor of Agricultural Economics at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, Thomas Hertel, will open the conference with a presentation on global change and the challenges of sustainably feeding a growing planet.
He is the founder and executive director of the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) which now encompasses more than 11,000 researchers in 160 countries around the world.
There will also be sessions discussing the effectiveness of recent drought responses in California and Australia. New Zealand’s Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, Dr Jan Wright will give the conference dinner speech.
Associate Professor Frank Jotzo, Australian National University will discuss why Australia’s climate policy collapsed and what that means for environmental economics, while Professor Alan Renwick, University College Dublin will cover challenges in coordinating agrifood supply chains.
Professor Juan Pablo Montero from Chile and the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority’s chief executive Mike Underhill will consider how countries can make the most of energy resources and opportunities.
“This is about some of the big issues for agriculture – energy, climate change, food poverty and environmental impacts from an economic perspective,” says Newman.
The theme of the conference is ‘transformations in agriculture and natural resources’.
