🌍 Happy World Environment Day Today and Forever! 💚
Let’s look at some concerning statistics:
Australia faces urgent environmental challenges, yet our universities are scaling back key disciplines.
➡️ Environmental and Earth sciences programs continue to face cuts and closures (e.g., quite a number at universities in NSW alone).
➡️ Domestic commencements in Agriculture, Environmental & Related Studies dipped again in 2024 (after a ~13% drop from 2022 to 2023). I think trends continues [Sources: DoE, Australian Government]
Geoscience departments are being downsized or merged at a time when we need more experts for critical minerals, climate resilience, biodiversity, and net zero goals.
The Australian Universities Accord points in the right direction for better STEM funding, but inadequate and slow. And meanwhile in academia, many EMCRs are simply moving away!
We must advocate for sustained investment in these strategic disciplines; sometimes it’s not just about enterprise or income generation, but about keeping the knowledge base and innovation-to-job creation for our sustainable future.
#WorldEnvironmentDay #Sustainability #HigherEducation #Geoscience #ClimateAction #PollutionClimateDuo #Australia
Worth reading once again: https://lnkd.in/g-U8FcZQ
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