Category Archives: CSIRO

Australia’s science agency sent questions from Trump administration asking if it aligns with US government interests

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Questions include whether science organisation receives funding from China, and whether it is a climate or ‘environmental justice’ project

The Australian government’s scientific agency joins more than a dozen universities that have been sent a questionnaire from the Trump administration asking to confirm if they align with US government interests.

On Tuesday, the CSIRO revealed it had received the correspondence from the US. A spokesperson at the CSIRO said it was aware of a “small number” of researchers who had received the questionnaire in recent weeks and was “determining an appropriate response”.

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Australia’s new chief scientist open to nuclear power but focused on energy forms available ‘right now’

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Prof Tony Haymet says nuclear industry will need to ‘rebuild their social licence’ while noting solar and wind are ‘incredibly cheap’

Australia’s new chief scientist has said he is open to the prospect of nuclear power playing a role in the country’s energy mix, but remained focused on forms of energy that were “available to help us right now”.

On his first day in the job, Prof Tony Haymet said new energy-intensive technologies like artificial intelligence could be powered by renewables, but that he thought serious discussions about nuclear in Australia were likely to be years away.

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US and China need ‘climate armistice’ to meet net zero, says former head of CSIRO

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‘Climate change is a global problem. It needs that global level of collaboration,’ says Larry Marshall

The world needs a “climate armistice” between the US and China if net zero emissions are to be reached while Australia should hone its efforts on a few key areas where it has an unusual competitive edge, Larry Marshall, the former CSIRO chief executive, said.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s budget in which the Albanese government’s Future Made In Australia (FMIA) plans will probably be prominent, Marshall said the nation ought to focus any industrial support on sectors such as processing of lithium or vanadium or products that realistically scale up.

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Methane emissions: Australian cattle industry suggests shift from net zero target to ‘climate neutral’ approach

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The US cattle industry adopted a ‘climate neutral’ goal in 2021 but scientists say that ‘misses the point’ in keeping global temperature rises below 1.5C

Cattle Australia is lobbying the red meat sector to ditch its net zero target in favour of a “climate neutral” goal that would require far more modest reductions in methane emissions.

The $75bn red meat industry, led by Meat and Livestock Australia, announced a target of reaching net zero emissions by 2030 seven years ago, in an attempt to maintain its social licence and drive investments in emissions reduction technology.

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Solar and on-shore wind provide cheapest electricity and nuclear most expensive, CSIRO analysis shows

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Estimates show small modular nuclear reactors would provide most expensive power and will not be available until 2030

Electricity generated by solar and on-shore wind is the cheapest in Australia, even after the significant expense of integrating them into the power grid is factored in, according to new analysis from the CSIRO.

Estimates of costs to build small modular nuclear reactors – a technology supported by the Coalition but not expected to be commercially available until at least 2030 – have risen dramatically and would provide the most expensive power, according to the draft GenCost report.

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Greens say CSIRO’s independence must be protected after alleged collaboration with BP

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Exclusive: Australian scientific agency rejects ‘ghostwriting’ claims made by US law firm representing victims of Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The Greens have warned that fossil fuel companies must not be allowed to “gag scientists” after lawyers representing victims of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill claimed to have uncovered evidence of the Australian government’s independent science agency collaborating with BP on academic studies.

The Downs Law Group has said documents it received as part of litigation against BP reveal the oil company’s lawyers reviewed and gave corporate approval to nine scientific studies by CSIRO employees, raising questions about the studies’ impartiality.

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“[W]e do not have a revised final with CSIRO authors”

“Planned for December. Approved?”

“Appear to be other papers that CSIRO is drafting and I will need confirmation they are indeed under way so I can track them and make sure they go through the review process”

“CSIRO paper from last year which made it through the review process and was approved”

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Science minister warns CSIRO against ‘renting out’ its brand to giant gas companies

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Ed Husic says science agency should focus efforts elsewhere after ‘very major’ gas company asked it to support net-zero bid

The science minister, Ed Husic, has questioned the priorities of Australia’s premier science body, warning it against “renting out” its brand to huge gas companies that could easily fund their own decarbonisation efforts.

Husic told the Spark festival on Monday that a “very major gas company” had approached CSIRO to support its claims of working towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions. While emphasising CSIRO’s independence, Husic said it should focus efforts elsewhere.

“Gas firms at the moment are making enough money to ensure that the mint could blush,” Husic told the gathering.

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CSIRO abruptly scraps globally recognised climate forecast program

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Exclusive: Funding halted from June 2021 without fanfare and after science agency reportedly spent $15m on teams of scientists

Australia’s premier science organisation abruptly scrapped a fully-funded, globally recognised program to predict the climate in coming years without consulting an advisory panel that had praised its “good progress” only weeks earlier.

Launched in 2016 with $37m in funding over 10 years by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, the Decadal Climate Forecasting Project was meant to help industries from agriculture to dam operators and emergency services to better cope with climate variability and extremes.

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CSIRO researchers identify 139 new species, including an ant that ‘babysits’ caterpillars

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Other discoveries formally named and described include 131 insects and other invertebrates, four fish, three plants and a frog

A blind cave-dwelling weevil, an ant that protects the caterpillars of one of Australia’s rarest butterflies, and the first millipede to actually have more than 1000 legs were among 139 new species described by scientists at CSIRO in the past year.

Other discoveries formally named and described in scientific journals include 131 insects and other invertebrates, four fish, three plants and a frog.

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CSIRO joins deep-sea mining project in Pacific as islands call for industry halt

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Agency to lead consortium in scheme targeting battery materials while conservationists say Australia on ‘wrong side of debate’

Australia’s national science agency, the CSIRO, has agreed to work with a controversial deep-sea mining project in the Pacific as a fourth island nation joins a call for a moratorium on the industry.

CSIRO will lead a consortium of scientists from Australia and New Zealand to help the Metals Company (TMC) develop an environmental management plan for its project, which is backed by the Nauru government.

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One in six Australian public servants sexually harassed in workplace, survey finds

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Exclusive: Survey of Australian public sector found two-thirds of incidents went unreported due to fears they would not be impartially investigated

Almost one in six public servants have experienced sexual harassment but only one-third of incidents were reported, according to a new union survey.

The results of a survey of 3,280 workers by the Community and Public Sector Union, released on Friday, will add pressure to the Morrison government to do more to combat workplace harassment.

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Two new greater glider species discovered: ‘Australia’s biodiversity just got a lot richer’

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One of the world’s biggest gliding mammals, Australia’s greater glider is actually three separate species, according to new research

One of the world’s biggest gliding mammals, Australia’s once-common and unique greater glider, actually comprises three separate species, according to new genetic research.

Researchers said the findings should prompt urgent work to better understand the three species which are under pressure from rising temperatures, bushfires and land-clearing.

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Virus that causes Covid-19 can survive up to 28 days on surfaces, scientists find

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Researchers find Sars-CoV-2 survives longer at lower temperatures and lasts 10 days longer than influenza on some surfaces

Australian scientists have found that the virus that causes Covid-19 can survive for up to 28 days on surfaces such as the glass on mobile phones, stainless steel, vinyl and paper banknotes.

The national science agency, the CSIRO, said the research undertaken at the Australian Centre for Disease Preparedness (ACDP) in Geelong also found that Sars-CoV-2 survived longer at lower temperatures.

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Extreme weather has damaged nearly half Australia’s marine ecosystems since 2011

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CSIRO says dramatic climate events are compounding the effects of underlying global heating

Extreme climate events such as heatwaves, floods and drought damaged 45% of the marine ecosystems along Australia’s coast in a seven-year period, CSIRO research shows.

More than 8,000km of Australia’s coast was affected by extreme climate events from 2011 to 2017, and in some cases they caused irreversible changes to marine habitats.

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