The Economic Impacts of Extreme Events

The evidence is clear that a changing climate will be associated with increasing magnitude and frequency of extreme weather events (e.g. droughts, flooding, heatwaves, and wildfire). These events have the potential to significantly affect New Zealand’s primary sector.

In response, this project (led by the AERU’s Associate Professor Anita Wreford) will estimate the economic impact of extreme events on New Zealand’s primary sector. These impacts are simulated using an agricultural trade model, allowing interactions with global climate and markets to be captured, as well as domestic impacts. Included in this will be a range of adaptation options and land use changes, in order to explore the implications of both incremental and transformative adaptation pathways. These impacts also include economic, social, cultural and environmental effects.

This project is funded by Ministry for Primary Industries’ Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change research programme.

Related Links

• What We Do: Climate Change

• What We Do: International Trade