This article is more than 9 years old

This article is more than 9 years old

A number of Australia's leading climate scientists have been moved into safer accommodation after receiving death threats, in a further escalation of the country's increasingly febrile carbon price debate.

The revelation of the death threats follows a week of bitter exchanges between the government and the opposition in the wake of a pro-carbon price TV advert featuring actor Cate Blanchett.

The Australia National University (ANU) in Canberra said that it has moved a number of its climate scientists to a secure facility after they received a large number of threatening emails and phone calls.

Ian Young, ANU's vice-chancellor, told ABC national radio that the threats had worsened in recent weeks.

"Obviously climate research is an emotive issue at the present time," he said.

"These are issues where we should have a logical public debate and it's completely intolerable that people be subjected to this sort of abuse and to threats like this.

"I think it is totally outrageous and the vast majority of Australians would think it is totally unacceptable for anybody in society to be subjected to this sort of behaviour."

Young said that scientists had been threatened with assault if they were identified in the street. Among those targeted is Prof Will Steffen, ANU's climate institute director.

Steffen is the co-author of a high-profile Climate Commission report that was published two weeks ago. The report calls for urgent action to avoid sea level rises of a metre or more over the course of the next century.

The death threats have not been confined to the ANU, with universities in New South Wales and Queensland also tightening security for more than 30 ecology, environmental policy and meteorology researchers, according to The Canberra Times.

Several scientists have reportedly switched to unlisted home phone numbers and deleted social media profiles that have been defaced by abuse and obscene images.

The Australian Federal police said that it was aware of the threats but had yet to receive a complaint.

Prof David Koroly, of the University of Melbourne's school of Earth science, told the ABC that he receives threats whenever he is interviewed by the media.

"It is clear that there is a campaign in terms of either organised or disorganised threats to discourage scientists from presenting the best available climate science on television or radio," he said.

There has been renewed focus on the science of climate change since Blanchett appeared in an advert supporting the proposed carbon price, which is set to be introduced on 1 July next year.

Blanchett, who was dubbed "Carbon Cate", for her stance, was attacked by several media outlets. The opposition leader, Tony Abbott, joined the criticism by claiming that the prime minister, Julia Gillard, was "happy to listen to actors, but she won't listen to voters."

Recent polling shows that just 38% of Australians favour a price on carbon.

However, Saturday saw a series of public rallies in support of the scheme, with around 8,000 attending a gathering in Sydney and an estimated 10,000 crowd in Melbourne. Smaller rallies were held in Brisbane and Perth.

According to Treasury modelling to be unveiled by the treasurer, Wayne Swan, on Tuesday, carbon pricing will have only a small impact on incomes. "Our economy will continue to grow solidly while making deep cuts in carbon pollution," Swan will say, according to excerpts of his speech obtained by Reuters. "The modelling will show real national income growing strongly under a carbon price, at an average annual rate per person of around 1.1% until 2050."