Climate Council warns 92 CSIRO cuts

The Climate Council said on May 22 that the loss of 92 science positions at Australia’s national science agency, CSIRO, would leave the public less able to understand and prepare for climate impacts including bushfire weather, flooding and sea-level rise. The statement followed CSIRO’s announcement on May 21 that it would cut 92 full-time jobs from its Environment Research Unit, a division that includes climate modelling staff. ABC reported that 11 of 60 climate modellers and analysts at CSIRO were told they would be made redundant. ### Where did the 92-job figure come from? CSIRO confirmed on May 21 that it would cut 92 full-time positions from its Environment Research Unit, according to ABC. The broadcaster said the cuts had been reduced from 102 roles in the agency’s original proposal after consultation. ABC also reported that CSIRO had already cut more than 800 jobs over the previous two years and had flagged 300 to 350 redundancies in November as it sought to address rising costs. (climatecouncil.org.au) Yahoo News Australia reported that the cuts were announced after a staff town hall on Thursday and came despite the Albanese government committing an additional A$387.4 million over the forward estimates in the 2026-27 budget. The report said the extra funding was earmarked for sites, research equipment, infrastructure, cyber protection and technology. (abc.net.au) ### Why did the Climate Council say the cuts matter? The Climate Council said on May 22 that the cuts would make it harder for Australians to understand and prepare for “major changes in weather extremes like bushfire weather, flooding and sea level rise.” Climate Councillor Andrew Watkins said CSIRO support for global climate modelling focused on Australia was “critical for understanding our future climate risks and extremes” and said the country needed climate models “built for our needs.” (au.news.yahoo.com) Amanda McKenzie, the Climate Council’s chief executive, said reducing climate science capacity meant “we are flying blind into a future that is more volatile and dangerous.” The group also pointed to Australia’s recent extreme weather and to the National Climate Risk Assessment, which it said identified 63 nationally significant climate risks. (climatecouncil.org.au) ### What has CSIRO said about the cuts? CSIRO said the changes were part of a strategic shift in research priorities. In a statement reported by ABC, a spokesperson said the agency was “making strategic research shifts to focus its efforts on where it could deliver the greatest national impact.” The spokesperson said CSIRO would “retain its climate science capability and continue to provide the data, models and scenarios needed to support decision-making in Australia and internationally.” (climatecouncil.org.au) ABC reported that CSIRO said it was exiting research where it lacked scale to achieve significant impact or where other parts of the sector were better placed to deliver. The agency also said the Environment Research Unit would remain one of its largest and that the changes reinforced capabilities in freshwater, marine, climate and adaptation science, circularity and social sciences. (abc.net.au) ### Which parts of climate science are under scrutiny? ABC reported that 11 of CSIRO’s 60 climate modellers and analysts were among those losing their jobs. Yahoo News Australia said five of the 15 scientists working on the Australian Community Climate and Earth System Simulator, known as ACCESS, were expected to be made redundant. ACCESS is Australia’s main climate and Earth system modelling effort. (abc.net.au) Ryan Winn, chief executive of Science and Technology Australia, told ABC there was no assurance that the global climate modelling work done by CSIRO and ACCESS-NRI would be picked up elsewhere. He said Australia was “the only country in the southern hemisphere contributing to these models” and warned that no government agency had a clear mandate to fund that work. (abc.net.au) ### Who else is pushing back? Susan Tonks, secretary of the CSIRO Staff Association, told Yahoo News Australia that the cuts would hurt Australia’s “core environmental science capacity,” including research supporting oceans, atmosphere, land, water and climate. She said the number of research programs would also be reduced from eight to five and called on CSIRO’s executive to rule out further job cuts before the end of the decade. (abc.net.au) The Climate Council’s statement is published on its website, and CSIRO’s position has been set out in comments reported by ABC. Further details on the staffing changes are likely to emerge through CSIRO statements, union responses and reporting on the ACCESS-related redundancies. (climatecouncil.org.au) (au.news.yahoo.com)