Climate change and Australia's national security

Climate change can undermine human, national and planetary security in various ways. While scholars harve explored the human security implications of climate change and climate security discourses in Australia, systematic scientific assessments of climate change and national security are scarce. I a...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian journal of international affairs 2023-01, Vol.77 (1), p.26-44
Main Author: Ide, Tobias
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Australia
Climate change
Climatic changes
Disasters
Discourses
environment
Human security
Infrastructure
International conflict
Migration
military
National security
Peace
Planning
Political risk
Political stability
Regions
security
Social aspects
Supply
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Summary:Climate change can undermine human, national and planetary security in various ways. While scholars harve explored the human security implications of climate change and climate security discourses in Australia, systematic scientific assessments of climate change and national security are scarce. I address this knowledge gap by analysing whether climate change impacts the national security of Australia before 2050, focussing particularly on climate-related threats within Australia and on countries of high strategic importance for Australia. The results indicate that climate change will very likely undermine Australia's national security by disrupting critical infrastructure, by challenging the capacity of the defence force, by increasing the risk of domestic political instability in Australia's immediate region, by reducing the capabilities of partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and by interrupting important supply chains. These impacts will matter most if several large-scale disasters co-occur or if Australia becomes involved in a major international conflict. By contrast, international wars, large-scale migration, and adverse impacts on key international partners are only minor climate-related risks.
ISSN:1035-7718
1465-332X
DOI:10.1080/10357718.2023.2170978