Climate change is exacerbating tensions in areas with existing global instability, increasing the risk and changing the nature of conflict.
It is far more than ‘just’ an environmental issue; it fundamentally changes our relationship with food and water, which is essential for our well-being and for the viability of nearly all other forms of life.

We have collectively built and optimized human civilisation for the relatively stable climate that has existed for thousands of years, starting at the end of the last ice age. That climate is now changing rapidly.

Admiral Professor Barrie’s talk will explore the threat that climate change poses to global security and implications for environmental and human security.
Participants will then discuss what can/should be done to maintain security in the context of our changing climate.

• Over and above reducing greenhouse gas emissions, what else should be done to increase global security in the context of climate change?
• How does this compete with other priorities, if at all?
• Is this about “Fortress Australia” or increasing Australian integration in the region?

About the speaker

After 42 years in the Royal Australian Navy, culminating in four years as the Chief of the Defence Force, Professor Admiral Chris Barrie (Retired) is uniquely equipped to lead this Climate Café.

He has worked on strategic leadership issues as consultant, teacher and mentor at Oxford University, the National Defense University in Washington DC and the Australian National University. He teaches on campus, at the Australian Command and Staff College, Department of Defence and the National Security College and holds a number of board positions at ANU.

He became very concerned about climate change matters in 2006 after which he has taken advocacy action to raise awareness of the potential costs of inaction. In 2015 he was an author of a Report for the Climate Council on “Climate Change, Security and the ADF”. Chris is also a member of the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC).

About Climate Café

Climate Café is a relaxed gathering of people interested in discussing ideas and questions on climate change and related topics. It cuts across disciplines, is inclusive, jargon-free and fun. The approach is modelled on dialogue events such as Café Philosophic and Café Scientifique.

Climate Café is hosted by the ANU Climate Change Institute and the ANU Environmental Collective.

Join us for lunch - pizza and drinks provided. Registration via Eventbrite is essential for catering purposes.