Brian Cox praises revived climate research

Popular British physicist Brian Cox says the world will welcome the federal government's decision to reinvest in climate research.

Cox, who is on a speaking tour of Australia, said the country has a responsibility to map the effects of climate change in the southern hemisphere.

"Australia is the most scientifically developed land mass in the Southern Ocean, so we need Australia. It's not optional," Cox told AAP.

"The world will welcome the fact that there's new investment in that area."

His comments come after Science Minister Greg Hunt ordered the CSIRO to renew its focus on climate research after it cut staff and programs earlier this year.

According to Cox, Australia can't ignore its responsibilities in working to predict increasing average global temperatures.

"You might say: `does Australia have to do it, the US are doing it and Europe are doing it', but Australia is the centre of expertise in the Southern Hemisphere so you need precision measurements of what's happened to the climate in the Southern Hemisphere as well as in the Northern Hemisphere in order to make your models better," he said.

"You need to employ people who understand how to measure these things and understand the modelling here because where else is it going to be?"