February 5, 2016

UOW scientists respond to CSIRO climate research cuts

A statement by scientists from the Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry at UOW

Scientists from the Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry at UOW have spoken out against recently announced cuts to climate change research at the CSIRO.

Professor David Griffith, Associate Professor Stephen Wilson and Associate Professor Clare Murphy responded to the announcement today by jointly issuing the following statement:

“Yesterday's CSIRO decision to decimate climate science research is a devastating blow for climate science in Australia.

“To paraphrase Nisbet and Weiss writing in Science Magazine in 2010: ‘Quantifying greenhouse gas emissions without measuring their atmospheric concentrations is like going on a diet without weighing yourself.’

“The recent Paris conference on climate change highlighted the need for increased efforts to monitor and measure atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases to verify emission levels. Yet, CSIRO has chosen to move in the opposite direction.

“The negative impacts of this decision go way beyond the national - they will be global and we can expect massive international protest from our scientific peers. 

“Australia's role is pre-eminent in characterising the atmosphere of the Southern Hemisphere - that is half of the total atmosphere!

“Our scientific reputation in the area of climate change, already under severe stress from government policies, will suffer even further.

“The Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station in Tasmania was established nearly 40 years ago by visionary atmospheric CSIRO scientists and is now operated by the Bureau of Meteorology to study the changing atmosphere.

“Cape Grim's measurement programmes are guided by many scientists around Australia, the majority of whom are from CSIRO. These programme s are now under direct threat. 

“Cape Grim has established highly accurate long term records of the changes that have occurred due to human activity, not only those in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane, but also including chlorofluorocarbons and other ozone-depleting substances, and other changes that we really still do not understand.

“The value of these records comes from their length, accuracy and continuity. For them to cease would have major negative impacts on global climate science,” they said.