‘Dystopian future': Climate change to force review of military's role

Climate change poses "a major security challenge for Australia" that experts warn has the potential to rapidly stretch the capability of the military, as demonstrated by the current bushfire emergency.

No longer over the horizon: climate change is already
creating challenges for Australia's military, including
the current bushfire season.

Michael Thomas, a retired army major, said "rising emissions will result in a more unstable and insecure world that will have far-reaching human, national and international security consequences", in an article published by the Australian Strategic Policy Institute on Tuesday.

"The bushfire crisis that’s unfolding across Australia provides some insight into what that dystopian world will look like," he said.

Major Thomas, who published a 2017 book on the security risks of climate change, said the fires that caused at least 27 deaths and burnt millions of hectares revealed the limits of Australia's forces to cope with traditional threats abroad and concurrent new ones at home.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘Dystopian future': Climate change to force review of military's role.”