Australia: Climate threat in military’s sights

THE Australian Defence Force has identified climate change as a national security threat for the first time, as it predicted the military would become more involved in stabilising failing states than fighting conventional wars.

Outlining its vision for the future of the armed services to 2030, the force has also foreshadowed an era where crises flare more suddenly while its adversaries, including terrorists and insurgents, become more cunning and capable.


Launching the document – Joint Operations for the 21st Century – the Chief of Defence Force, Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston, said the military faced security challenges it had not envisaged before, specifically “climate change and the impacts of global demography”.

It is the first time a publicly released document from Australia’s security and intelligence apparatus has acknowledged the threat.

Sydney Morning Herald