Increasing temperatures, rising sea levels and more frequent and severe extreme weather events are heightening the risk of conflict and increasing the displacement of people, according to discussions at Australia’s first climate security summit in Canberra.

The roundtable, held by the Climate Council, gathered 30 of the country’s leading minds from the Australian Defence Force (ADF), academia, policy think tanks and guests from the U.S. and the UK. They discussed several issues including the risks posed by climate change to geopolitical stability as well as the challenges faced by the ADF in providing humanitarian assistance in response to natural catastrophes.

In a statement, the summit’s co-chairs urged the Australian government to take immediate and significant steps to mainstream climate change into defence planning. They noted that the UK and U.S. governments have taken significant legislative and strategic steps to ensure that climate change is integrated into defence planning.

In Australia, however, comparatively less action is being taken by the government to ensure that the ADF is prepared for the security risks posed by climate change, the co-chairs claimed.

They also pointed out that climate change worsens tensions in areas with existing global instability, increasing the risk of conflict and changing the nature of ADF missions. For instance, they said that increasing extreme weather events can reduce the availability of food. The summit’s co-chairs cited the food riots that erupted across Africa and the Middle East in 2008 as well as the destabilisation of the Middle East in 2011, which both resulted from soaring food prices due to extreme weather and scarcity.

Australia and the Asia-Pacific region are particularly vulnerable to climate change, according to the summit’s co-chairs. In this regard, the ADF is increasingly called upon to deliver humanitarian assistance in response to the rise in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events and their impact on both at home and in the region.

Extreme weather could also affect the ADF’s readiness and capability, the co-chairs said. Rising temperatures and more frequent and intense heatwaves have implications on the health of Australia’s military personnel when undertaking training and conducting military exercises. Defence properties, such as military bases, are also at risk from sea-level rise and extreme weather.

“Climate change 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,” the summit’s co-chairs concluded.

According to the ABC, the Australian Defence is coming up with a white paper by the end of the year, and the climate summit’s co-chairs said this should include how to address the security implications posed by a changing climate.

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