Ross Garnaut AC

Professor Ross Garnaut AC is Emeritus Professor of Economics, University of Melbourne and The Australian National University. 

Professor Garnaut's previous roles have included Research Director of the ASEAN-Australia Economic Relations Research Project; principal economic adviser to Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke; special emissary of the Prime Minister on trade policy issues to Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, the Philippines, the People's Republic of China, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea and Japan; Australian Ambassador to China from 1985 and 1988 and Chair of the Board of Directors of major Australian and international companies. 

He is the author of numerous influential reports to the Australian Government, including Australia and the Northeast Asian Ascendancy 1989, The Garnaut Climate Change Review 2008 (commissioned by the then Prime Minister of Australia) and The Garnaut Review 2011: Australia and the Global Response to Climate Change (commissioned by the Gillard Government). 

Other contributions of note include publications in scholarly journals on international economics and relations, public finance and economic development, and Australian economic policy and reform. 

Recent books include Superpower: Australia’s low carbon opportunity (2019), Reset: Restoring Australia after the Pandemic Recession (2021), The Superpower Transformation: Making Australia’s zero-carbon future and Let’s Tax Carbon: and Other Ideas for a Better Australia (2024). 

Professor Garnaut was made Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1991 for service to education and international relations and a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 2017 for service on climate change and energy. 

He is a Director at The Superpower Institute and the Executive Chairman & Director at Superpower Industries