News & Announcements

In this article which appears on Nature's website and soon in its print edition, Toda International Research Advisory Council member Professor Denise Garcia argues that proliferating military artificial intelligence will leave the world less safe — so we must focus on ethics and global cooperation. The relentless pursuit of militarization does not protect us. It diverts resources and attention from nearer existential threats, such as extreme weather events. With the world reeling from COVID-19 — the shock of the century — now is not the moment to hasten towards worldwide confrontation. In 2019 alone, climate disasters displaced almost one million people in the United States. China, too, is extremely vulnerable to global warming. This common ground could pave the way to cooperation, including stopping the emerging AI cold war.  See full article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-01244-z Nature 593, 169 (2021) Image: US cyber warfare operators (Airman Magazine)/Flickr          

In January, the Biden Administration released the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. It is a sweeping document that integrates climate concerns into policy and governance, including into national security. It recognizes that environmental security, the integration of environmental considerations into national security strategy, policy, and programs, is essential to combat the global climate crisis and should be mainstreamed across U.S. government efforts.  Read more in this New Security Beat article by Elsa Barron and Sherri Goodman. https://www.newsecuritybeat.org/2021/05/raising-climate-ambition-include-environmental-peacebuilding/      

More than 100 traditional owners and leading scientists from across Australia met this week to build a national First Nations voice on climate change. From marine heatwaves and rising seas to bushfires and mass species deaths, climate change is having a major impact on First Peoples, their country, health and culture. Internationally, Indigenous people make up less than 5% of the world’s population, but they manage and protect 80% of global biodiversity. Read more at https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2021/mar/27/we-want-to-be-included-first-nations-demand-a-say-on-climate-change Image: Jochen Bullerjahn/Flickr

Toda Peace Institute Director, Professor Kevin Clements, writes that this is a time in Asia-Pacific history when we need fresh thinking about how to build trust, confidence and conflict resolution mechanisms throughout the region. https://www.asiamediacentre.org.nz/opinion/japans-new-security-role/ Image: wikimedia

Kiribati has announced plans to work with China in developing a huge piece of land on the Fijian island of Vanua Levu. The five-and-a-half thousand acre estate was purchased in 2014 as a place for Kiribati citizens to relocate if their islands became uninhabitable due to climate change. Local reaction to the news has been mixed but Former Kiribati President Anote Tong said he was in favour of the land being developed. "The question really is would China be a partner that I would choose... I did not choose China in 2003 I chose Taiwan," He said. "What the current government is doing it may be an option... Fiji [has] had some problems with the developments the Chinese private sector have been involved in." For more, listen to Pacific Beat. Duration: 5min 45secBroadcast: Tue 23 Feb 2021, 6:00am Image: TGN1/Flickr