Australia Cuts 110 Climate Scientist Jobs

[Octafish]

Because the science is settled there is no need for more basic research, the government says

By Gayathri Vaidyanathan
Scientific American ClimateWire on February 8, 2016

With an ax rather than a scalpel, Australia’s federal science agency last week chopped off its climate research arm in a decision that has stunned scientists and left employees dispirited.

As many as 110 out of 140 positions at the atmosphere and oceans division at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) will be cut, Larry Marshall, the agency’s chief executive, told staff Friday. Another 120 positions will be cut from the land and water program. Across the agency, 350 climate staff will be moved into new roles unrelated to their specialty.

Scientists say the cuts would affect Australia’s ability to cope with climate change. The nation is already the driest on Earth and experiencing significant shifts in rainfall. It would leave the global research community disabled, since CSIRO ran the Southern Hemisphere’s most comprehensive Earth monitoring and modeling programs. And it would leave young climate scientists at CSIRO without direction.

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On Feb. 3, (Larry) Marshall wrote in a memo that CSIRO would henceforth focus on commercially viable projects. The next day, during a staff meeting, he said all climate change programs would be cut. Staff would be transferred into other programs, so there would not be job losses, he said.

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“Climate science becomes secondary to business; business comes first,” (Clive) Spash said. “The interests of the corporate sector, of the mining and resource extraction industry, are primary in Australia.”

SOURCE: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/australia-cuts-110-climate-scientist-jobs/