Politics

Australia studies impact of climate crisis on its national security

Sydney, Australia, Jun 22 (EFE).- Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese ordered his chief of intelligence to analyze the impact of climate crisis on the country’s national security, official sources told EFE on Wednesday.

Director-General of the Office of National Intelligence Andrew Shearer “will coordinate an assessment of the national security impact of climate change,” a spokesperson of the spy agency told EFE in a statement.

“The scope and terms of reference are being discussed with the relevant ministries, including defense,” he said.

While the details of this assessment remain unknown, the government at Canberra is expected to create an Office of Climate Threat Intelligence that will update these risks regularly, reported the Guardian Australia newspaper.

The emphasis on the threat of climate change to national security is part of the shift made by the new Labour government under Albanese – who won the general elections on May 21 – with a more aggressive proposal for reducing pollutant emissions and transition to a green economy.

Last week, Australia presented to the UN a new target for reducing pollutant emissions by 43 percent by 2030 against the 26-28 percent set by the previous conservative government, which during its nine years of management was heavily criticized for failing to implement decisive measures to curb global warming.

Moreover, the fight against the climate change is at the forefront of Australia’s international relations with the Pacific nations.

The Pacific islands represent a strategic region already suffering from rising sea levels, and has become the focus of attention since China signed a security pact with Solomon Islands in April.

Australia’s Climate Council, an independent body of climate experts, warned in a report published in 2015 and co-written by retired Admiral Chris Barrie, former head of the Armed Forces, that climate change is a growing threat to national security.

The report also warned about food security and its link to migration waves and conflicts, the impact of extreme weather events on military infrastructures and humanitarian responses in the Asia-Pacific. EFE

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