Weather is Australia’s biggest security threat, defense officials say

Climate change is now “the biggest threat to the future and security” of Australia, senior military figures and specialists in the country said on Wednesday.

The group, which includes former Australian Defense Forces chief Admiral Chris Barrie, warned in a letter to the country’s political leaders that they must make climate “an immediate security priority” ahead of federal elections in May.

Defense veterans and security experts pointed to the 2019 “black summer” fires and recent floods that devastated eastern Australia as examples of weather disasters requiring a mobilization of Australian troops.

“Australia does not have a credible climate policy, leaving our country unprepared for mounting impacts,” the letter states.

Similar comments were made this week by the UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, who referred to Australia as a country that does not define significant medium-term measures to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions.

Australia, one of the world’s biggest exporters of fossil fuels, last year set a goal of reaching zero emissions by 2050 but did not raise its 2030 targets despite pressure to do so during last year’s climate summit in Glasgow.

Military leaders and defense specialists argued in the open letter that climate and security go hand in hand, calling on policymakers to “commit to mobilizing the necessary resources to confront this clear and present danger.”

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