Greens to pour billions into science

The Australian Greens would pour billions of dollars into research and innovation in a plan that would rescind budget cuts to the CSIRO.

The Greens policy, released on Friday, would aim to boost spending on science and innovation to four per cent of GDP by 2030.

Australia spends about 2.2 per cent of GDP which the Greens say is well below competitors like the United States, Korea and Japan.

Under the plan, the Greens would fork out about $5 billion in funding for bodies like the Australian Research Council and National Health and Medical Research Council.

About $1.3 billion would go to reversing cuts to the Sustainable Research Excellence program and university research.

It would also reinstate $306.5 million to the CSIRO as well as reverse $690 million worth of planned cuts to research and development tax offsets.

Greens leader Richard Di Natale will launch the plan with science spokesman Adam Bandt in Melbourne on Friday.

The boost in funding would deliver the research and innovation needed for Australia to remain competitive, Senator Di Natale said.

"This transition won't just happen, it requires leaders with a vision for the new economy and the courage to take us there," he said.

The Greens say the policy will be funded through already announced savings measures, including scrapping fossil fuel subsidies.