A report has found that Australia is well placed to secure prosperity over the coming decades despite the challenges of an uncertain and possible resource-constrained future.
However, this prosperity is not a given—instead Australia’s future will be shaped by innovation and technology.
According to Australia’s national science agency CSIRO, the Australian National Outlook, released recently, is the most comprehensive quantitative analysis yet of the interactions between economic growth, water-energy-food use, environmental outcomes, and living standards in Australia.
CSIRO Executive Director Alex Wonhas said National Outlook focused on the “physical economy” that contributes to about 75% of natural resource use and produces about 25% of Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP).
“The National Outlook is a first attempt to understand and analyze the connections in Australia’s physical environment many decades into the future,” Wonhas said.
“It has a particular focus on understanding two aspects: The ‘water-energy-food nexus’ and the prospects for Australia’s materials- and energy-intensive industries.”
National Outlook finds a number of key insights and potential opportunities across the Australian economy. And as Australia’s population grows, so too does water demand.
“Despite projections of a doubling of our water use, Australia could meet this growth as well as enhance urban water security and avoid increased environmental pressures through increased water recycling, desalination, and integrated catchment management,” Wonhas said.
The results of CSIRO’s National Outlook show that energy and other resources could remain a pillar of the Australian economy well into the future, and that energy-intensive industries could be well positioned to continue to grow, even in scenarios where the world is taking global action to significantly limit greenhouse gas emissions.
“The key to this success will be innovation and application of smart technologies,” Wonhas said. “We hope the National Outlook will help Australia chart its future in an increasingly complex and interconnected world.”
The National Outlook explores over 20 possible futures for Australia out to 2050 against the backdrop of the past 40 years.
