Global Shield Briefing (February 2026)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). The start of every year typically comes with a swath of global risk lists and assessments. From scientists, think tanks, risk specialists, geopolitical consultants, insurance companies – each have their own view. Regardless of the methodology, the message is clear: 2026 is a year […]
Global Shield Briefing (24 December 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). As the year comes to a close, it is time to take stock. Is global risk increasing or decreasing? Is our preparedness building or declining? Is governance strengthening or weakening? Are governments collaborating or splitting? Are people getting more hopeful or more gloomy? Are […]
Seven Reasons Australia Needs to Act on AI Risk
Australia’s artificial intelligence (AI) policy debate is at a crossroads. Decisions made in the coming months will determine whether Australians are able to trust AI and capture its benefits or whether we are left exposed to unacceptable and avoidable risk. Calls to wait for yet further reviews ignore the evidence that action is needed now. […]
Global Shield Briefing (24 November 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). Our view – unsurprisingly – is that the world is becoming increasingly risky. The risk from climate change, pandemics, weapons of mass destruction, emerging technologies and mother nature is not reducing. Mostly because the political, societal, economic, technological and environmental drivers underpinning them are […]
Global Shield Briefing (15 October 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). “Prediction is very difficult, especially about the future.” Attributed to physicist and Nobel laureate, Niels Bohr, as well as to baseball Hall of Fame player and manager, Yogi Berra (though first stated by Danish politician and a founder of Denmark’s social democracy, Karl Kristian […]
Submission to the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry’s Consultation on the Feeding Australia: National Food Security Strategy
Australia’s food system faces a range of looming global challenges — including from climate change, land degradation, water insecurity, supply chain disruptions, geopolitical instability, disease outbreaks, and threats from emerging technologies.1 These challenges mean that traditional assumptions around the resilience or security of Australia’s food supply will be increasingly challenged. In a plausible worst case […]
Global Shield Briefing (17 September 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). The critical insight from 2002 book, Ubiquity: Why Catastrophes Happen by Mark Buchanan, is that many catastrophes – whether natural or human-made – share a deep structural similarity. Complex systems can exist in a precarious balance in which small shifts could trigger dramatic outcomes. […]
Global Shield Briefing (27 August 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). “Be alert but not alarmed.” It’s what Australians were told in 2002 to warn them about the threat of terrorism. There was a large-scale media blitz, led by the prime minister. A dedicated hotline was set up – its number helpfully displayed on fridge […]
Global Shield Briefing (1 August 2025)
The latest policy, research and news on global catastrophic risk (GCR). Risk can often be quite abstract. Instead, consider scenarios. In the UN Global Risk Report, covered in the first section, four scenarios are presented, with the “breakdown” scenario painting an eery, if familiar, vignette: “In an increasingly fragmented world, the multilateral system is under […]
DPA Modernization and Reauthorization Congressional Letter
On 29 July 2025, Global Shield and seven other groups sent letters to key members of Congress urging them to reauthorize and modernize the Defence Production Act. Read letter