In this episode of “Catching the last wave”, we are honored to host the Head of the Climate and Security Policy Centre at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, Dr Robert Glasser.

Dr. Glasser previously served as the UN Secretary General’s Special Representative for Disaster Risk Reduction and a member of the Secretary General’s Senior Management Team.

Before joining the U.N., he was the Secretary General of CARE International, one of the world’s largest non-governmental humanitarian organisations, with over 10,000 staff active in 80 countries. From 2003-2007, Dr. Glasser was the Chief Executive of CARE Australia. Prior to joining CARE, he was Assistant Director General at the Australian Government aid agency (AusAID) where he headed the PNG programme, programmes in South East Asia, Corporate Policy, and the Infrastructure and Environment Group.

Dr. Glasser’s previous work also included climate change science and policy analysis for the US Department of Energy (Los Alamos National Laboratory’s Center for National Security Studies) and research on peace and conflict issues at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy, the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre at the Australian National University, the Cornell University Peace Studies Program and the Centre for International and Strategic Affairs at the University of California.

Dr. Glasser is on the board of WaterAid Australia, the Queensland Reconstruction Authority and Inclusivo (Santiago, Chile). He was previously the inaugural board chairman of the CHS International Alliance, chair of the Steering Committee for Humanitarian Response, an Advisory Panel member of the Climate Vulnerability Monitor, a member of the Principals Steering Group of the United Nations Transformative Agenda for Humanitarian Action, and a member of the Steering Group for the World Economic Forum project on The Future Role of Civil Society.

In this interview, we explored the importance of addressing climate-related security risks in the Pacific, focusing also on the Australian perspective. Dr. Glasser immense knowledge and expertise allowed us to better understand what climate security means for the Pacific and the rest of the world and the importance of developing risk management strategies and actions.

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The podcast series “Catching the last wave” will explain how climate change is already and will continue shaping the way communities are living. It aims at raising awareness on climate security and foster an effective and informed dialogue on the issue at the regional and global levels, thereby providing an inclusive approach to building resilience. Read more.

In this first episode of “Catching the last wave”, we had a conversation with Deputy Secretary-General of the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat (PIFS) Dr Filimon Manoni. Read more.

In this episode of “Catching the last wave”, we had a conversation with the Director of the Institute for Climate, Energy & Disaster Solutions at the Australian National University and Vice Chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Professor Mark Howden. Read more.

In this episode of “Catching the last wave”, we are honored to talk to a Pacific climate change expert and regional and global climate change advocate Ms. Kathy Jetnil-Kijiner. Kathy is a Marshall Islander poet, performance artist, educator. She received international acclaim through her poetry performance at the opening of the United Nations Climate Summit in New York in 2014. Read more.

In this episode of “Catching the last wave”, we are honored to host the General Secretary of the Pacific Conference of Churches (PCC) Reverend James Bhagwan. PCC is the region's peak ecumenical body with 33 member churches and 10 national councils of churches across 19 Pacific Island States and territories – accounting for some 80 percent of the Pacific’s human population. Read more.

Our guest for this episode of "Catching the last wave" is Honorable Bikenibeu Paeniu, former Prime Minister of Tuvalu and currently a consultant for the Tuvalu Climate Action Network (TuCAN) and technical advisor for the Ministry of Agriculture. Read more.

Our guest for this episode of "Catching the last wave" is Gladys Habu, a passionate young climate advocate from the Solomon Islands. Gladys has campaigned for years at the local, regional and international levels to increase awareness of the impact of climate change. Read more.

Our guest for this episode of "Catching the last wave" is Dr. Mahendra Kumar, a senior climate change specialist with wide experience in climate change, development, energy and environment programs in Asia-Pacific and Africa. Read more.

Our guest for this episode of "Catching the last wave" is Hon. Seve Paeniu, Tuvalu's Minister of Finance. Hon. Seve started his career as Assistant Planning Officer with Tuvalu's Ministry of Finance in 1988 and became the Ministry's Director of Planning in 1989. Read more.

Our guest for this episode of "Catching the last wave" is Mr. Broderick Menke, National Adaptation Plan Coordinator for RMI. His role at COP26 was to present the RMI NAP process and introduce new ways of sustainable adaptation planning, while following the adaptation tracks during the Glasgow negotiations. Read more.