Environment
The Quad needs a futures focus
If there is a cumulative lesson from the past few years, it’s that the era of “polycrises” is firmly upon us. A polycrisis is defined as the net effect from the non-linear…
A minute to midnight: reversing environmental tipping points
In 2009, academics Johan Rockström, Will Steffen and colleagues proposed an idea well beyond the geopolitical concept of borders. What they described was the notion of…
Indonesia-Australia climate change cooperation begins with the ocean
The recent visit to Jakarta by Australia’s new Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was productive. Among many issues raised in a joint communique released following a meeting with…
Diplomacy is indispensable to manage the Mekong
Milton Osborne mischaracterises the Mekong River Commission when writing last month in The Interpreter that the regional organisation “ignores reality”. To say we were …
Defence’s bullet for disaster isn’t silver, it’s brass
The declaration of a national emergency in response to unprecedented flooding in eastern Australia, and the deployment of 7,000 Australian Defence Force troops across the states…
Climate change: less space between one disaster and the next
Last month, another major report on the state of the world’s environment was published – a new assessment from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the dry…
Transforming Australian diplomacy for climate leadership
One of the former Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials involved with a new group “Diplomats for Climate Action Now” recently voiced regret that during his decades…
Australia should build its green infrastructure presence
A group of former diplomats are among the many parties making a persuasive case for Australia to adopt a more climate-conscious foreign policy. One particularly beneficial…
A climate changed – Best of The Interpreter 2021
With Australia spared the urgency of a major bushfire disaster over the summer, Roland Rajah foresaw a rapid and positive shift for the country in the economics of climate change…
Glasgow delivered, but what, exactly?
The Glasgow climate conference – the 26th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Climate Convention – was held in uniquely difficult circumstances compared to…