“I have no doubt the government is genuine in its commitment to confirming the importance of climate science research in Australia,” he said. PhotoSYDNEY, Australia — In a surprising about-face, the Australian government said on Thursday that it would devote more resources to climate research at the country’s science agency, which was savaged by budget cuts six months ago. But senior ministers in the country’s conservative coalition government have often aggressively challenged the veracity of climate science in recent years, especially when Tony Abbott, a vocal climate-change skeptic, was prime minister. He was ousted last year in a party leadership challenge by Malcolm Turnbull, who was critical of Mr. Abbott’s climate views. The cutbacks at the agency, the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, had drawn stinging criticism from scientists around the world, who called its work “critical and irreplaceable” to global climate science.

Source: New York Times August 04, 2016 12:51 UTC