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4Th August 2017 Richard & Maria Maguire 4 th August 2017 Submission to the Inquiry into the implications of climate change for Australia’s national security. We are making the submission as a member and Co-Chair of Parramatta Climate Change Network. This submission concerns the role of Australia’s overseas development assistance in climate change mitigation and adaptation more broadly; the role of climate mitigation policies in reducing national security risks The inadequacy of the 2016 Defense White Paper in addressing these issues in comparison with those of our allies. We applaud the Senate’s decision to set up this inquiry, which we understand is in part occasioned by reports of the concerns of the United States Defense Department and other allied nations on the threats to national security posed by climate change. We have heard reports in the media that the government opposed this inquiry on the basis that the issue of climate change in relation to our national security had already been dealt with in the 2016 Defence White Paper. Our reading of the White Paper indicates to us that the treatment of Climate Change in that document is very cursory in comparison to that of the United States and others. The white paper simply mentions that climate change can lead to instability in various nations or damage to Australian military installations and this must be taken into account in our planning. We have attached a listing of all the mentions of climate change in the Defense White paper to this submission. Reading the materials from the United States and other countries shows that they take the issue of climate change much more seriously. Particularly they bring out that National Security depends on strong action on climate change now, by the military (such as reducing their use of fossil fuels) by the nation by assisting other countries in their efforts to reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. That is our national security cannot be adequately ensured simply by being ready for conflict in the traditional military sense, but by actively pursuing measures to reduce emissions at home and abroad by all parties, and supporting other countries in their efforts to protect their nations against the effects of climate change. We recommend that the committee review the statements of the US Defense Department and other nations on what is needed to protect our security in the face of climate change, and make recommendations to the government on identifying how our nation including our military can take much stronger action on climate change, and how we will support the efforts of poorer countries to do likewise. We are confident that you will notice that the treatment of Climate Change in the 2016 White Paper does not give this concern the attention and urgency that it deserves. We we refer you to the report to the US Congress by the US Defense Department on Climate change as well as a Chronology of Military and Intelligence Concerns About Climate Change, from the US to provide some insight on how seriously they identify actions to mitigate climate change as essential for national security. It can be accessed at http://archive.defense.gov/pubs/150724-congressional-report-on-national-implications-of- climate-change.pdf?source=govdelivery --------------------- Statements by the US Secretary of Defense and allied nations on Climate change and National Security Mattis has long espoused the position that the armed forces, for a host of reasons, need to cut dependence on fossil fuels and explore renewable energy where it makes sense. He had also, as commander of the U.S. Joint Forces Command in 2010, signed off on the Joint Operating Environment, which lists climate change as one of the security threats the military expected to confront over the next 25 years. As well, at a Munich meeting on international security issues last month, attended by Mattis and Vice President Mike Pence, European officials pushed back on demands that they spend more on defense, saying their investments in boosting resilience to climate hazards in poor regions of the world are as valuable to maintaining security as strong military forces. “[Y]ou need the European Union, because when you invest in development, when you invest in the fight against climate change, you also invest in our own security,” Federica Mogherini, the European Union’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy, said in a panel discussion. All statements on Climate Change in the 2016 Australian Government Defence White paper Page 6 Instability in our immediate region could have strategic consequences for Australia and we will continue to take a leading role in providing humanitarian and security assistance where required. Within the South Pacific, variable economic growth, crime and social, governance and climate change challenges will all contribute to uneven progress and may lead to instability in some countries. 2 Page 41-2 Six key drivers will shape the development of Australia’s security environment to 2035:… state fragility, including within our immediate neighbourhood, caused by uneven economic growth, crime, social, environmental and governance challenges and climate change Page 48 The South Pacific region will face challenges from slow economic growth, social and governance challenges, population growth and climate change. Instability in our immediate region could have strategic consequences for Australia should it lead to increasing influence by actors from outside the region with interests inimical to ours. The South Pacific region will face challenges from slow economic growth, social and governance challenges, population growth and climate change. Instability in our immediate region could have strategic consequences for Australia should it lead to increasing influence by actors from outside the region with interests inimical to ours. Page 55-56 2.68 Climate change will be a major challenge for countries in Australia’s immediate region. Climate change will see higher temperatures, increased sea-level rise and will increase the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events. These effects will exacerbate the challenges of population growth and environmental degradation, and will contribute to food shortages and undermine economic development. 2.69 To help countries in our immediate neighbourhood respond to the challenges they face, Australia will continue to play an important regional leadership role. Our strategic weight, proximity and resources place high expectations on us to respond to instability or natural disasters, and climate change means we will be called on to do so more often. We will continue to play that role in close collaboration with New Zealand, France, the United States, Japan and other partners. Page 102 4.69 As previous reviews have highlighted, basing requirements to support the larger and heavier ADF to be introduced over the coming decades will place significant pressure on Defence and civilian infrastructure in Australia. Climate change will also place pressure on the Defence estate, with sea level rises having implications for Navy bases and more extreme weather events more frequently putting facilities at risk of damage.` Chronology of Military and Intelligence Concerns About Climate Change https://climateandsecurity.org/2017/01/12/chronology-of-the-u-s-military-and-intelligence- communitys-concern-about-climate-change/ As we look toward a new Administration in the United States, and the path forward on addressing the myriad threats in a rapidly-changing geostrategic landscape, it’s worth having a clearer understanding of how the U.S. national security community has come to its current level of concern about climate change. This concern didn’t happen overnight, or 3 under a single administration. Rather, it’s the culmination of decades of assessments stretching back to the end of the Cold War. In popular discourse, it’s often assumed that climate change is a brand new issue for the national security world – an interloping latecomer. The truth is that it’s not. The U.S. military has been concerned about climate change since the George W. Bush Administration, at the latest, but military institutions such as the Naval War College have been warning policy-makers since 1990, during the first Bush Administration. The intelligence community has also been in the game since the early 1990s, with the establishment of the MEDEA program – a structured collaboration between climate scientists and U.S. intelligence agencies – and has been releasing intelligence estimates on the national security implications of climate change since 2008, under the direction of then Chairman of the National Intelligence Council, Dr. Thomas Fingar. To clarify the historical record on this subject, we are therefore posting below an updated chronology of US Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community (IC) products that explicitly address the climate change threat. A broader look at other national and international security documents addressing climate risks can be found on the Climate Security Chronology and Resource Hub. Department of Defense 2016: 2016 Special Issue: Climate Change and Policy, Marine Corps University Journal 2016: DoD Directive 4715.21: Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience. U.S. Department of Defense 2016: Joint Publication 1-02: Department of Defense Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. U.S. Department of Defense 2016: Regional Sea Level Scenarios for Coastal Risk Management: Managing the Uncertainty of Future Sea Level Change and Extreme Water Levels for Department of Defense Coastal Sites Worldwide, U.S. Department of Defense 2015: El Nino: Potential Asia Pacific Impacts: U.S. Pacific Command 2015: DoD Instruction 3200.21 “Sustaining Access to the Live Training Domain”: U.S. Department of Defense 2015: National Security Implications of Climate-Related Risks and a Changing Climate [Report to Congress on Geographic Combatant Command responses to climate risks], U.S. Department of Defense 2015: A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower, U.S. Department of the Navy/ United States Marine Corps, U.S.
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