Tom Morton’s research focuses on climate change, climate communication, energy transitions and the coal-industrial complex.
Dr Morton retired in December 2020 from the University of Technology Sydney, where he was Associate Professor of Journalism and Research Stream Leader in the Climate Justice Research Centre.
Prior to joining UTS he was a radio documentary producer and investigative journalist with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).
Dr Morton is currently a chief investigator on the ARC Discovery Project Decarbonising Electricity, which looks at the social legitimacy of renewable energy in Australia, India and Germany. This follows on from a previous ARC project on coal and climate change, Beyond the Coal Rush. On both these projects Dr Morton has worked closely with Dr Katja Műller of ZIRS, conducting ethnographic fieldwork at sites in the Lausitz (Lusatia) and Brandenburg, and producing co-authored publications.
In 2016 Morton produced a three-part radio series on coal and climate change for the ABC’s Science Show, Beyond the Coal Rush, and a feature for the Deutschlandfunk: Australien. Indien. Lausitz. Brennpunkte im Kampf um die Kohle (with Manuel Waltz).
Dr Morton has a PhD in German Language and Literature from the University of Adelaide.