Cotton and Climate Change

Cotton is grown in many climatically suitable countries across the world, in a diverse range of production systems. The levels of climate risk varies across these regions, as does the capacity to adapt to future changes in climate risk. In this chapter we discuss the general sensitivity of cotton to climate, recent climate changes that have influenced cotton in key producing countries, the likelihood of future relevant climate changes, and general adaptive strategies. These issues are considered in the case-study of Australia which has a high level of exposure to climate change.