The Australian Government will continue to build the scientific understanding of climate change through $31.2 million in funding over four years for its Australian Climate Change Science Program.

The Government is also supporting climate change research by providing $387.7 million over five years to fund infrastructure that is critical for climate change science. The Super Science Initiative: Marine and Climate helps to address critical infrastructure needs and deliver facilities that will enhance Australia's existing research strengths in marine and climate science.

The Initiative will fund high performance computing, additional marine observing systems, terrestrial ecosystem observations and replacement of the Marine National Facility.

"Quality scientific research is essential to underpin the Australian Government's comprehensive policy response to climate change," Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Penny Wong said.

"Australian scientists are already making an important and unique contribution to building global understanding of climate change.

"However, our climate change science community is facing new challenges and we need more detailed information on the causes, nature and consequences of climate change to develop effective adaptation strategies and reduce our carbon emissions."

The Government has also adopted a new Australian Climate Change Science Framework. This Framework sets national climate change science priorities for the next decade. It identifies the science capabilities, human capital and infrastructure investment needed to deliver on these priorities; and sets out ways to harness our full science capacity to address those priorities.

A high-level coordination group, chaired by Australia's Chief Scientist, will develop an implementation plan to ensure that all organisations with a significant climate change research capacity contribute to meeting Australia's priority climate change science information needs.