THE kangaroo population could be devastated by climate change, putting a cloud over suggestions roo should replace beef and lamb as the nation's favourite meat, new research shows.

A temperature rise of 2 degrees, which is likely by the second half of this century, would reduce the range of most kangaroo and wallaby species by half, the James Cook University study found.

A 6-degree increase, which is at the extreme end of possible temperature rises predicted for 2070, would lead to the territory where kangaroos can survive reducing by 96 per cent - a level that would cause large-scale marsupial extinctions.

"The area where kangaroos and wallabies are able to survive is probably going to get smaller, so you would have to expect the populations to drop quite significantly," said Dr Euan Ritchie, who drove 150,000 kilometres around northern Australia compiling data for an epic, three-year study.

"Although rainfall in northern Australia may increase as the climate changes, the temperature will also be going up, so you might see a net loss of water through evaporation."

Dr Ritchie said the study findings did not rule out the expansion of kangaroo farming.