‘Foolish’ CSIRO job cuts will mean Australia unable to provide climate projections to global reports, scientists warn

Job cuts at the national science agency mean Australia will no longer be able to submit climate projections to form part of global reports and will have significantly reduced ability to forecast future damage to the country, leading researchers have warned. Multiple sources told Guardian Australia that CSIRO planned to sack a third of the team working on the national climate model that provides projections relied on by governments, councils, industry and farmers as they plan for the future. Senior scientists said it would result in Australia no longer having an international-standard climate model to contribute projections to major assessment reports by the world’s leading climate science body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). CSIRO management is expected to confirm at a staff meeting on Thursday that it is making about 100 scientists redundant as part of a plan announced last November to cut full-time research positions by between 300 and 350. It follows the sacking of 818 support staff last year. The agency’s chief executive, Doug Hilton, has said the latest cuts would go ahead despite the Albanese government announcing $387m in extra CSIRO funding in last week’s federal budget. The new money is largely to upgrade buildings and research infrastructure, including the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness at Geelong. …