A CSIRO decision to cut 92 climate science jobs is likely to keep Australians in the dark and be felt beyond these shores, critics say.
The agency announced the cuts yesterday (May 21) despite a recent federal budget allocation of $387.4 million over four years; click here for a media report.
The Climate Council says the job cuts make it harder to prepare for major climatic events like bushfire weather, flooding and sea level rise.
The council’s Adjunct Professor Andrew Watkins says Australian support for global climate modelling “is critical” to understanding future risks from extreme weather.
“As a climate scientist I’m extremely alarmed at any cuts to CSIRO’s modelling capability right when we need it most,” he says.
“Australians just endured a summer that broke heat and rainfall records in every state and territory while fires destroyed hundreds of Victorian homes. Now drought is starting to emerge.”
He points to the National Climate Risk Assessment which identified 63 climatic risks to the country: “Now is hardly the time to reduce our ability to understand the extremes we will face today and into the future,” he says.
Council CEO Amanda McKenzie said: “Every time we cut resources for climate science, we are flying blind into a future that is more volatile and dangerous.
“This is not the time to pull back investment in climate science but to increase our capability so that we know what we’re up against and come up with solutions and responses,” she says.
“Our climate modellers are essential workers in the climate crisis; cutting back on our understanding of climate risk right now is akin to slashing health research during a pandemic.”
STA REACTS TO CSIRO NEWS
The peak body for scientists and technologists, Science & Technology Australia’s CEO, Ryan Winn, says the job cuts to CSIRO’s Environment Research Unit “are very worrying” but “sadly” expected.
He says that the $387m earmarked in the federal budget was never about keeping jobs.
“It will be used to pay for infrastructure, like buildings and research equipment,” he says.
Winn says Australia is the only southern hemisphere country that contributes to global climate models and that there is no guarantee that this work can be picked up elsewhere.
“No government agency has a clear mandate to fund this necessary climate modelling. There is an expectation it’ll just get done,” he says.
Winn says that other climate research is funded by short-term grants; they do not have the financial stability to add to decades-long projects that fuel global predictions.
“We have a national, and regional, responsibility to maintain this role,” he says.
“If there is no funding found to continue this crucial capability, it could have devastating effects for research organisations and advisory agencies that rely on this data.”
He explains that scientific data is used to inform food production and keep living costs down.
“There will be flow-on effects for Australia and our Pacific neighbours’ ability to predict, adapt and respond to the impacts of climate change,” he says of the CSIRO cuts.
“Ultimately, this could leave Australia and our region more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and decision-makers without the tools required to chart a resilient and prosperous future.”
OTHER CSIRO NEWS: Agency to shed 350 jobs in 2025
