“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.” Bill Gates, 1996.

The last decade provides a useful perspective on some of what we have learned about applying climate change science to decision making in South Australia. Some decision makers still sincerely pose the questions “What is climate change?” or the more pointed “Is human induced climate change real?” These questions are best addressed by climate science and relate to the basic science question “Why is it so?” Over the last decade it is more common to be asked the more applied science question of “What do we do about the situation?” The challenge of what to do is answered in South Australia’s greenhouse strategy which is based on the three verbs; to reduce, to adapt, to innovate.

This presentation will provide an account biased to adaptation in the agricultural sector of South Australia. One of the main challenges is the application of worrying but uncertain projections from climate science to real world decision making.

While the focus is on some key lessons in the last decade it is important to see this in context of activities arising from Greenhouse 88 and back to the early days of the colony and pioneering thinkers such as Charles Todd and George Goyder.