The Australian
Climate Change Special Report
By: Brendan O'Keefe
Universities and research institutes are moving on from established studies of what might be causing climate change to looking at how to adapt to it in areas such as health, energy and safety. Undergraduate bachelor programs and post-grad degrees by research or coursework are now widely offered.
At the Australian National University's Climate Change Institute, researcher Michael Djordjevic is in a team trying to turn microalgae into a substitute for diesel and fuels. His school of biological sciences and ANU's engineering school co-operate to spiflicate algae under a gigantic magnifying glass, gassifying the slime to extract its oil.
Djordjevic and the engineering team led by Keith Lovegrove, combined their two ideas to produce what they call syngas.
This alternative to fossil fuels is "industrially very useful . . . it has a multitude of purposes''. "It can be processed using existing infrastructure and the syngas can then be used to make methane or gasoline or diesel substitutes and all have an immediate market,'' Djordjevic predicts the project will deliver fuel alternatives in five to 10 years.
Overseeing much of the nation's study of climate change repercussions is the National Climate Change Adaptation Research Facility, based at Queensland's Griffith University and part of the federal Department of Climate Change.
It is in charge of divvying up $50 million for research projects in its first two years in areas such as health, disaster and emergency management; marine biodiversity; resources, terrestrial biodiversity, primary industries and water resources.
Spokeswoman Jeanette Langan says NCCARF is a facilitator of research projects, especially collaborative ones, rather than a research centre. In its brief is finding gaps in research and knowledge that will be needed to inform government policy and spending decisions. Researchers submit expressions of interest on nominated projects and compete with others for NCCARF funding.
The organisation also ensures that there are no wasteful double-ups on research. "We look at what research needs to be done in various areas, such as what are the climate change impacts on human health, water quality and vector-borne disease,'' Langan says.
NCCARF director Jean Palutikof says next on the agenda is writing a research plan for indigenous communities.