Australia's Biggest Security Risk May Be Climate Change

Australia may be tightening security at its borders soon, but not because of terrorist threats. While the climate-shift story in the rest of the world reads like the Book of Revelations, Australia has got a problem almost as large as floods and famine: mass immigration caused by floods and famine (and overpopulation).

Reuters states that China's population is posed to tip 1.5 billion by 2030, and while the Chinese might be making babies, Mama Nature is wreaking havoc. A 3 percent temperature rise, rising sea levels and shrinking glacial runoff could reduce runoff into major Chinese rivers, while land for grain and rice might be reduced by 30 percent. More citizens and a lot less food and water could prompt a forced migration of millions of people.

Australian Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty suggests that since police will be dealing with resulting racial tensions and thus directly involved "with the struggle to cope with the impact of global warming," they should also be involved in the regulation of emerging carbon trading schemes.

Australia, along with the United States, has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol, which requires 36 industrial nations to cut greenhouse emissions.

Filed under: Asia, Oceania, China, Australia