Climate change science has been, and will continue to be, essential in supporting the three pillars of the Australian Government's climate change policy: action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, action to adapt to climate change that we cannot avoid, and action to help shape a global solution.
Australian science has provided a foundation for climate change policy development to date, and international leadership in several areas of climate change science, particularly in the southern hemisphere. An Australian capability is important because science generated in the northern hemisphere, where most research is done, will not provide all the information needed for Australian decision making. Climate change science is entering a new phase of complexity as decision makers and the public demand greater insight into likely impacts and the effort required for mitigation and adaptation.
The National Framework for Climate Change Science (the Framework) identifies national climate change science priorities for the coming decade and sets out ways to harness our full science capacity to address them.