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Australian climate researcher, author and advocate David Spratt is a leading voice on climate risk, emergency action and restoring safe climate conditions.

Summary

  • Australian climate advocate, researcher and author focused on climate risk and emergency response.
  • Prominent voice calling for urgent, systemic action to address the climate crisis.
  • Co-author of the influential book Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action.
  • Known for translating complex climate science into accessible public and policy analysis.
  • Writes extensively on climate risks, political responses and the need for emergency action.

David Spratt is a seasoned Australian climate advocate, researcher and author whose work has significantly shaped public discourse on climate change and its impacts. With a background in advocacy and policy analysis, he has dedicated his career to examining the relationship between human activity and the Earth’s climate systems.

David is known for his strong advocacy for urgent and deep risk assessment. His research and commentary have appeared in publications including The Canberra Times, Pearls&Irritations, Renew Economy, and The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, where he has explored climate risks, policy failures and the intersection of climate change and social justice.

David specialises in translating complex climate science into accessible narratives for policymakers, advocates and the public. He is co-author of the influential book Climate Code Red: The Case for Emergency Action, which helped frame the case for emergency-scale climate responses and lead to a global declaration movement.

Known for challenging conventional thinking, David’s work offers clear-eyed analysis of the political and systemic barriers to climate action while advancing bold solutions aimed at restoring a safe climate future. Through his writing, research and advocacy, he continues to be a leading voice for climate emergency action.

We are now in an emergency situation, with limited time to act and avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

David Spratt
Research Director and Climate Analyst
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David's Archive
ARTICLES
Could Four Billion People Die at 3°C?
Every 1,000 tonnes of fossil carbon burned may result in one future premature death.
PAPER
Climate disruption, not China, is the key security threat facing Australia
This submission argues climate disruption, not military rivalry, represents Australia’s greatest security risk, demanding a major rethink of AUKUS-era spending priorities.
ARTICLES
Dodging Climate Breakdown, Really?
Media headlines say worst-case warming is fading. Evidence suggests dangerous heating remains.
ARTICLES
Budgeting For Denial
Australia’s budget ignores escalating climate risks, deepening future national vulnerability.
ARTICLES
Authoritarianism is Undermining Climate Action
Authoritarianism is stalking nations and global institutions, and climate barely rated a mention at Davos this year.
ARTICLES
Drowning in Distraction
Any sane security policy would put climate risks, not China, at centre stage.
ARTICLES
Climate Policy-Making off the Rails?
A one-sided emphasis on adaptation distracts from decarbonisation focus.
ARTICLES
Silence Facilitates Climate Disinformation
Failing to education the public about climate impacts aids climate denialism.
ARTICLES
Climate Hot Takes for 2025
Evidence this year shows 1.5°C has effectively been reached, 3°C is looming under current policies, and geoengineering is moving into the mainstream conversation.
PAPER
Silence Facilitates Disinformation
Government misses an obvious climate moment during extreme weather crisis.
PAPER
Understanding Climate Risk
Policymakers and scientific institutions like the IPCC place too much emphasis on middle-of-the-road probability estimates rather than plausible worst-case outcomes.
REPORTS
The Great Barrier Reef
The Great Barrier Reef faces rapid decline; urgent, targeted actions are needed to restore ecosystems, safeguard species, and ensure survival.
ARTICLES
Ignoring Tipping-Point Risks
Assessment understates catastrophic sea-level risks, leaving communities exposed and unprepared.
PAPER
Warming has Reached 1.5°C
Global warming has hit 1.5°C, but that is not safe. What does that mean for climate advocacy?
ARTICLES
Australia’s First Climate Risk Assessment, Long Overdue
Australia has never had a comprehensive climate risk assessment. It has been a glaring omission.
ARTICLES
Accelerating Warming Time-Bomb
Accelerating warming creates urgent, systemic climate risks demanding unprecedented global action.
ARTICLES
At the Climate Crossroads
Climate risks are escalating rapidly. The 1.5°C threshold has been surpassed, pushing us toward devastating tipping points.
ARTICLES
60-Metre Sea Rise Predicted
Current CO2 levels could cause a 60-meter sea-level rise, with devastating impacts and urgent climate action needed.
ARTICLES
1.5°C is Here & Now
Global temperatures have likely reached 1.5°C, with accelerating warming driven by rising CO2 levels.
PAPER
Is Scientific Reticence Hindering Climate Understanding?
Climate impacts are happening faster than predicted, yet scientific caution and underestimation of risks are slowing public understanding and policymaking.
PAPER
Accelerating Climate Disruption
The strategy to reduce, remove and repair.
ARTICLES
Too Hot Classified
The Albanese Government withheld a classified climate-security report, selectively briefed MPs, and delayed action amid rising risks.
ARTICLES
Our National Security Blindspot
The Albanese Government's climate risk assessment is delayed, while critical climate-security risks remain hidden.
ARTICLES
Another Year, Another Record
2024 broke temperature records amid deadly climate disasters, failing policies, and accelerating risks from ocean and tech impacts.
ARTICLES
Policy on Collision Course
Climate policy is failing to address rapid warming, risking extreme impacts and societal collapse.
REPORTS
Collision Course
With the planet already effectively at 1.5°C of warming, and no sign of emissions peaking, the world is now on a dangerous trajectory toward 3°C.
ARTICLES
America First, Earth Last
Climate policy is failing to address rapid warming, risking extreme impacts and societal collapse.
ARTICLES
A Climate Duty of Care
Governments must uphold fiduciary duties, protecting citizens from climate risks and ensuring long-term stability and well-being.
ARTICLES
Climate’s Latest Scorching Reality
2023 was a year of unprecedented heat, drought, and disaster.
ARTICLES
Going Under Despite the Warnings
High-end possibilities create the greatest damage, so why don't we understand them?
ARTICLES
Climate Security Left in the Dark
Concealing the intelligence analysis of climate threats is the opposite of good security policy governance.
PAPER
Testing Climate Preparedness
Australia’s National Climate Risk Assessment (NCRA) process ignores global-scale existential and systemic climate risks.
PAPER
Australia's Climate Security Risk Assessment
Australia’s first climate security assessment highlights urgent threats, but government refuses to release full findings.
ARTICLES
Faster Than Forecast
Climate policy is failing to address rapid warming, risking extreme impacts and societal collapse.
PAPER
Faster, Higher, Hotter
The evidence is clear: emissions are still rising, warming will exceeds 1.5°C by decade's end, and tipping points are accelerating, requiring urgent action.
ARTICLES
The Net-Zero Myth
Leading economists warn net-zero scenarios are based on flawed models unfit for guiding urgent, risk-aware climate policy.
ARTICLES
Stranded by a Warming World
The Paris target is unsafe as major climate tipping points accelerate, demanding urgent global action.
REPORTS
Climate Dominoes
Earth’s systems are showing significant signs of tipping into irreversible change.
PAPER
Reclaiming “Climate Emergency”
How should the term “climate emergency” be understood?
REPORTS
Degrees of Risk
Financial systems risk collapse as climate models ignore cascading impacts of 3°C warming and systemic instability.
PAPER
Net Zero 2050: A Dangerous Illusion
Net zero 2050 plans risk locking in fossil fuel use for many decades, leading to dangerous warming and economic instability.
REPORTS
Climate Reality Check
Warming beyond 1.5°C is imminent; only emergency-scale action can prevent catastrophic, irreversible, self-reinforcing climate impacts this century.
PAPER
Carbon Budgets For 1.5 & 2°C
Current carbon budgets underestimate warming by ignoring feedbacks and risky assumptions about climate system behavior.
PAPER
COVID-19 Climate Lessons
COVID-19 revealed global unpreparedness; climate disruption demands urgent, science-based leadership and coordinated risk management action.
REPORTS
Fatal Calculations
Climate economics has consistently downplayed future climate damage and risk.
PAPER
Australian Local Government Climate Emergency Declarations
How climate emergency declarations influence Australian councils' policies.
PAPER
The Third Degree
Australia and the world face catastrophic risks from 3°C warming; leadership denial leaves society dangerously unprepared for collapse.
PAPER
Existential Climate-Related Security Risk
Climate change poses an existential threat; urgent, wartime-scale action is needed to prevent profound security consequences.
REPORTS
What Lies Beneath
Mainstream climate assessments downplay extreme risks—this report calls for urgent, large-scale, emergency-level climate action.
REPORTS
Disaster Alley
Climate change has become a major catalyst for global conflict, social unrest, and humanitarian breakdown.
REPORTS
Antarctic Tipping Points
How Antarctica could contribute several metres of sea-level rise—far sooner than previously thought.
REPORTS
Recount
The 2°C limit is dangerously inadequate; irreversible tipping points are already triggered, leaving no carbon budget to prevent catastrophic impacts.
REPORTS
Climate Code Red
This urgent call for immediate climate action reshaped global approaches and framed climate change as an emergency.
David's Collaborators
ChrisBarrie.FA

Chris Barrie

Former Defence Chief and Security Advocate

Ex-ADF leader highlighting climate threats, national security risks and policy urgency.

View profile
AnastKop

Anastasia Kapetas

Geopolitical Analyst and Communications Strategist

Expert analysing disinformation, security dynamics and technology impacts on democratic resilience.

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IanDunlop.FA

Ian Dunlop

Energy Expert and Strategic Advisor

Former executive advising decarbonisation, resource constraints and systemic economic transition risks.

View profile
ALIA.FA

Alia Armistead

Climate and Energy Research Specialist

Researcher analysing emissions trends, policy impacts and sustainable energy systems development.

View profile
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