Skip to main content
The Interpreter

Interpreter - Menu Links

  • Articles
  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • About

Published daily by the Lowy Institute

  • 14 Nov 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    Who holds a hose? Climate change as a national security risk in Australian federalism

    Danielle Ireland-Piper
    The lines on a map might not be the sole legal determinant for an effective response to disasters and the consequences of climate change.
  • 8 Nov 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    Climate calamity: The fine line between fact and fiction

    Tom Barber
    A post-apocalyptic Australia, ravaged by unliveable temperatures, isn’t that far-fetched.
  • 27 Sep 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    The logic of first mover disadvantage: Why Australia won’t save the planet

    Mark Beeson
    Acting on climate change will inescapably involve sacrifices for the collective good.
  • 9 Aug 2024
    • Southeast Asia
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australian trade, investment & economy
    • Energy
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    Is Australia too late to claim its green economy share?

    Trang Nguyen
    Playing a role in Southeast Asia’s green energy transition is an opportunity Australia must not let pass.
  • 12 Jul 2024
    • Australia in the World
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australian Navy
    • Defence & Security
    • Maritime Security

    Testing the climate for AUKUS

    Albert Palazzo
    The deterrence effects of nuclear-powered submarines are easily overstated, and the boats won’t fulfil Australia’s most pressing security needs in a changing environment.
  • 22 Mar 2024
    • China
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • BRICS
    • Climate change
    • Multilateral Institutions
    • Sustainability

    Green transition: Supercharging a sustainable future for the Asia‑Pacific

    Christoph Nedopil
    An ambitious path of competition and collaboration with China would ensure the region’s economic non-dependence.
  • 15 Mar 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific
    • Australia's Army
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Pacific Islands
    • China and the Pacific
    • Fiji
    • Papua New Guinea
    • Vanuatu

    A “climate defence force” for the Pacific

    Thomas Lonergan
    By harnessing human, environmental and resource security, Canberra can counter Beijing’s coercive tactics in the region.
  • 5 Mar 2024
    • Japan
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • France
    • United Kingdom
    • Climate change
    • Environment
    • Sustainability

    A role for nuclear in Australia’s climate response?

    Stephen Grenville
    In the facts-lite political debate, the opportunities and comparative advantages of solar are being sidelined.
  • 9 Feb 2024
    • Australia
    • Australia and Asia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia's Economy
    • Energy
    • United States

    Middle East turmoil and a US pause offer Australia LNG opportunities

    Ian Satchwell
    On the way to net-zero, there is a chance to help bolster Asia’s regional energy security.
  • 29 Jan 2024
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia's Defence Challenges
    • Australian Defence Force
    • Australian Navy
    • Maritime Security
    • Review

    Why big projects fail: Climate change and AUKUS submarines

    Stephen Grenville
    Construction lessons – from the Empire State to the Sydney Opera House – can inform Australia’s most pressing problems.
  • 19 Sep 2023
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Sustainability
    • United Nations

    Global Stocktake: Unlocking trillions for climate action

    Frank Jotzo , Michelle Lyons
    The Paris Agreement’s assessment of climate policies finds some good news, but massive room for improvement.
  • 29 Aug 2023
    • Australia
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Environment

    Climate change: Counting the costs and opportunities

    Ryan Neelam
    Australia needs to think beyond the price of transition and move quickly to become a renewable energy superpower.
  • 6 Apr 2023
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    Australia can no longer justify fossil fuel funding

    Christian Downie , Maxfield Peterson
    Canberra needs to sign onto the Glasgow Statement and join its allies in shifting public support to renewables.
  • 14 Nov 2022
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Energy
    • Climate change

    The race for lithium

    Antonia Flowers
    Global energy transition relies on a resource that Australia holds in abundance. But supply chains and policy are key.
  • 21 Sep 2022
    • Indonesia
    • Indonesia's Economy
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    Making sense of Indonesia’s fuel riots

    Eduard Lazarus
    Cutting subsidies is a step in the right direction, but a more robust social safety net is ultimately a better fix.
  • 30 Jun 2022
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    In a puzzling trend, concern about climate change has plateaued

    Bec Colvin
    Latest polling shows emissions reduction may not have been the hot button issue that swayed the Australian electorate.
  • 28 Jun 2022
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Environment

    A minute to midnight: reversing environmental tipping points

    Tom Cernev
    Planetary boundaries and the role they play in global security are not as remote as they sound. And it’s time to listen.
  • 13 Sep 2021
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Technology

    Risks versus opportunities in national security thinking

    Albert Palazzo
    Conventional security logic is undergoing a revolution that includes renewable energy. Australia needs to get on board.
  • 31 May 2021
    • Public Opinion
    • International Public Opinion
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia
    • Australian Public Opinion
    • Climate change

    As varied as the weather: How public attitudes shape climate policy

    Bec Colvin
    Opinion surveys across the big emitters reveal the social complexity surrounding climate policy commitments.
  • 15 Feb 2021
    • Australia's Economy
    • Sustainability
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change
    • Energy

    Australia’s place in a decarbonising world economy

    Roland Rajah
    The economics of climate change are rapidly shifting, and that has opportunity for Australia.
  • 24 Jun 2020
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australian Public Opinion
    • Climate change
    • Coronavirus

    Australia’s shifting mood on climate change

    Bec Strating
    This year’s intense bushfires seemed like the event that would finally move climate policy. Then came Covid-19.
  • 12 Feb 2020
    • Australia and Climate Change

    Climate change, security, and the Australian bushfires

    Matt McDonald
    Australia‘s refusal to address the climate-security link has left it lagging. Will this season of fires change anything?
  • 3 Jan 2020
    • Public Opinion
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australian Public Opinion

    New Year on Australia’s fire ravaged coast

    Alex Oliver
    These first days of 2020 have been terrible as exhausted volunteers battle blazing fires in the bush and countryside.
  • 15 Oct 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific

    “Accepting the science”, rejecting the action

    Nic Maclellan
    If the Morrison government is on board with reducing emissions, as it seems to claim, it needs to step up its policies.
  • 7 Aug 2019
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Climate change

    Climate change is a national security issue

    Pat Conroy
    The Morrison government’s Pacific “Step Up” will stumble before it starts unless global warming is taken seriously.
  • 13 Mar 2019
    • Global Economy
    • Australia and Climate Change

    An orthodox economic take on climate change shocks

    Roland Rajah
    Climate change has a significant bearing on macroeconomic outcomes such as growth and inflation.
  • 7 Jan 2019
    • Global Issues
    • Australia and Climate Change

    How to save one million lives, and then millions more

    Alexandra Phelan
    Climate change is a health crisis: meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement would save lives.
  • 10 Jan 2018
    • Australia and Climate Change

    Finding Australia’s fair share of climate finance

    Nic Maclellan
    Practical action will meet a financial pledge to the poorest countries on the planet.
  • 23 Nov 2017
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Australia and the Pacific

    To lead in the Pacific, Australia must lead on climate change

    Greg Colton
    Australia’s position as the world’s largest coal exporter does not sit easy with many Pacific Islanders.
  • 23 Nov 2017
    • Global Economy
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Energy

    The global energy outlook and what it means for climate change

    Stephen Grenville
    The two-degree target is way beyond reach on the International Energy Agency’s base scenario.
  • 6 Nov 2017
    • Australia and Climate Change
    • Energy

    The two Americas at COP23

    Adam Morton
    The Trump Administration will be the clear villain at the Bonn climate change talks.
  • 31 Jul 2017
    • Pacific Islands
    • Australian Defence Intelligence and Security
    • Australia and Climate Change

    Climate change will place new pressures on LHD vessels

    Nic Maclellan
    If the ADF deploys for more humanitarian operations in the Pacific, its budget, equipment and personnel will be stressed.
  • 6 Jul 2017
    • Australia and Climate Change

    Three focus points for Turnbull at G20 summit

    Greg Colton
    The G20 should focus on climate change and Australia has an important role to play as a regional leader.
  • 14 Feb 2017
    • Australia and Climate Change

    US conservatives embrace carbon tax: Is there a message for Australia?

    Stephen Grenville
    This is a proposal whose main merit is its political economy mix.
  • 13 Dec 2016
    • Australia and Climate Change

    The Paris agreement and Australia’s electricity generation

    Stephen Grenville
    Policy needs to seize the best options in a complex industry.

Stay informed with the latest commentary and analysis on international events from experts at the Lowy Institute and around the world.

Register

The Interpreter features in-depth analysis & expert commentary on the latest international events, published daily by the Lowy Institute.

© Copyright 2025 Lowy Institute

  • Debates
  • Contributors
  • Articles
  • About
  • Terms of Use
  • Log In
  • My bookmarks