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Understanding Australia's changing climate and the fragility of our ecosystems is critical if we are to enable industries to minimise their environmental impact and strengthen community resilience to natural disasters and extreme events.

CSIRO’s Environment Business Unit brings together our capabilities in marine, atmospheric, water and terrestrial environment disciplines, as well as significant social and economic research, to align and support the nation in creating a better and more sustainable future.

Our research examines the increasing pressures facing our natural and built environments from the combined effects of climate change, extreme events, non-sustainable use of natural resources and le gacy activities.

We collaborate with experts from across CSIRO  in National Collections & Marine Infrastructure, Health & Biosecurity, Agriculture & Food , Data61, other Business Units and Enterprise Services across CSIRO to further underpin our research portfolio. We also work closely with other publicly funded research agencies, the universities , industry and communities to deliver impactful science.

Together, we are addressing Australia’s biggest environment challenges by translating complex science into decision ready information and tools essential for sustainable and equitable economic, social, and environmental management and development into the future.

Our research programs include 

Climate intelligence – providing Australia and our neighbours with actionable ocean, atmosphere, and climate information and tools to ensure a sustainable and resilient future. This is part of the Climate Science Centre.

Coastal and Oceanic Systems –leading developments in remote sensing, bio-optics, genomics, and sensor technologies to observe the marine environment and provide intelligence on the challenges impacting our coasts and ocean.

Earth Systems – Australia's national capability in observing and modelling our atmosphere and oceans and developing our earth system models to address the challenge of climate change and emission reduction. This is part of the Climate Science Centre.

Sustainable Industries – advancing and enabling responsible industry operations and development through new production routes and transformation to support zero waste and pollution.

Sustainable Marine Futures – delivering timely scientific knowledge to advise solutions to support sustainable development of Australia's coastal and marine resources.

Sustainable Water Futures – providing Australia safe and trusted solutions to share and secure water for people, industry, and ecosystems.

Thriving Communities, Cities and Regions – developing sustainable economies and increasing resilience to climate change and supporting indigenous stewardship of land, water, and sea through Indigenous-led approaches.

Thriving Natural Systems – implementing solutions and enabling policy and investment to protect and manage natural systems to improve biodiversity functionality and adaptation to environmental change.

Meet the Environment Leadership Team

  • Director – Dan Metcalfe
  • Science Director – Brett Molony
  • Deputy Director – Chris Chilcott
  • Research Director, Climate Intelligence – Jaci Brown
  • Research Director, Coastal & Oceans Systems – Mark Baird
  • Research Director, Earth Systems – Melita Keywood
  • Research Director, Industry Environments – Andy Whiteley
  • Research Director, Living Landscapes – Libby Pinkard
  • Research Director, Sustainable Marine Futures – Alistair Hobday
  • Research Director, Sustainability Pathways – Stuart Whitten
  • Research Director, Water Security – Carmel Pollino
  • Science Leader Significant Projects – Paul Bertsch
  • Research Operations Manager – Ben Rae
  • Business Development & Growth Director – Sandra Fox
  • Communications Manager – Ariane Rummery
  • Finance Managers – Nga Do & David Rehe
  • Strategic HR Partner - Julie Carroll 
  • HSE Manager - Anna Schwartz
  • Operations Support - April Ederosas (ACT/VIC), Shayne Burgess (NSW/TAS), Jaryn Donaldson (QLD/NT) & Mark Wilson (WA)

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