Media release

From: Australian Science Media Centre

Climate research across Australia’s universities and climate agencies should be better coordinated, and around 80 new climate scientists should be employed to plug gaps in research capability, according to a new report from the Australian Academy of Science.

The changes would help deliver better climate information to farmers and infrastructure planners, and guide national efforts to mitigate the future impacts of climate change, say the report's authors.

The review surveyed Australia’s universities, climate research agencies and centres, including the Bureau of Meteorology, the CSIRO, and the Australian Antarctic Division, to identify how many Australian researchers are working across the various disciplines and sub-disciplines of climate science, and how well these different areas are performing.

One area identified as lacking is climate model development. Australia’s climate models are failing to keep pace with world’s best practice, warn the authors, adding that 30 new climate modellers and scientists are needed over the next four years.

“These capability requirements are brought into sharper focus when you consider that our country is potentially more exposed to the impacts of climate change than most developed nations,” said Professor Trevor McDougall, who led the review.

Join us for this online briefing, when three of the report's authors will discuss their findings.

Speakers:

• Dr Graeme Pearman is Adjunct Senior Research Fellow at Monash University in Melbourne and Director of Graeme Pearman Consulting Pty Ltd.
• Dr Julie Arblaster is Associate Professor in the School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment at Monash University
• Dr Trevor McDougall is Scientia Professor in the School of Mathematics and Statistics at UNSW.

Date: Wed 2nd Aug  2017
Start Time: 10:00am AEST
Duration: Approx 45 min
Venue: Online