Climate shift is biggest security risk: Australia

CANBERRA (Reuters) – Climate change, not war or terrorism, will be the century’s biggest security challenge with China unlikely to be able to feed its vast and growing population as a result, Australia’s top policeman has warned.

With predictions climate shift could slash agricultural output in Asia, and bring more droughts and flooding, climate refugees “in their millions” may be on the move within decades, Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty said.


China, its population tipped to reach 1.5 billion from the current 1.3 billion by 2030, had particular challenges, Keelty said, although instability would hit the entire Asia-Pacific.

“We could see a catastrophic decline in the availability of fresh water. Crops could fail, disease could be rampant and flooding might be so frequent that people, en masse, would be on the move,” Keelty said in a speech late on Monday.

“Even if only some and not all of this occurs, climate change is going to be the security issue of the 21st century.”

Reuters