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The CSIRO is going to cut 92 jobs from its environment and climate science division. There are fears within the scientific community that the cuts will adversely affect Australia's ability to assess and adapt to climate change.

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00:02Summer's getting hotter, weather getting wilder and an increasingly thirsty landscape.
00:08Arguably the need for more knowledge about climate change and its impact has never been
00:13more important.
00:14But the CSIRO thinks fewer specialists are needed to do the job.
00:18Those people have obviously been told today, they've had it confirmed today, so that is
00:24incredibly upsetting.
00:25The agency has announced it will scrap nearly 100 jobs in the Environment Research Unit,
00:31including 11 climate modelling researchers.
00:33Scientists have said to us, you know, if we're not at critical mass we can't be effective,
00:37and I think, you know, that's the real concern here.
00:40There's no way you can cut that much and maintain the same level, same quality and same resolution
00:46of data and insights.
00:48It's left those in the know fearful, not only for staff, but also for Australia's future
00:54ability to adapt to real world changes that affect farmers, families and business.
00:59Understand the climate isn't just a nice idea and important for a biodiversity environment,
01:04it's about critical things for industry.
01:06The CSIRO has defended the decisions, saying in a statement…
01:10CSIRO will retain its climate science capability and continue to provide the data, models and
01:17scenarios needed to support decision making in Australia and internationally.
01:22But the science community is worried that unless more money is found for research, the consequences
01:28will be widely felt.
01:30This is about real world solutions and if you take money off the table we lose insights,
01:34we lose capability.
01:35A warning that even if more funding is found, it may be too late to keep that expertise in Australia.
01:41Next time to update
01:41I am going to access the data data sets.
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