The decarbonisation of the economy would bring multiple benefits but also costs. In particular, some of the costs will be focused on regions that economically rely on industries linked to high carbon footprints. To underpin informed decision making for future transitions, we propose an ‘economic vulnerability to decarbonisation’ (EVD) index that aims to describe how different regions could fare as the economy changes. The EVD index captures both sides of the coin: the risk of high carbon economic exposure and the carbon economic resilience of employment sectors across regions. We find that 3% to 6% of local economies (SA2 regions) in Queensland face significant risks from decarbonisation. Vulnerable regions will need strategies to manage the transition towards a less carbon-intensive economy.

Dr David Fleming is an applied economist with work experience in Chile, the United States, New Zealand and Australia. His main research area is applied microeconomics with an emphasis on regional and resource economics. His interests also include energy futures, agricultural and development economics, and public policy. David has published in a range of top economics/social science journals and is currently Editor-in-Chief of the journal Resources Policy and Senior Economist at the CSIRO.

When: 14 May 2019 2:00pm–3:00pm

Where: Room 262, Steele Building (#03)