The Iran war has heightened the nuclear and climate threat. Australia must help the world step back from the brink

‘Australia must refuse any form of complicity in nuclear use. It should state clearly it will not provide intelligence, basing, logistics or political cover for nuclear weapons under any circumstances,’ writes former chief of the Australian defence force Chris Barrie. Photo: Demonstrators carry anti-war signs outside the White House in Washington DC on 7 April. Photograph: Probal Rashid/NurPhoto/Shutterstock

The war on Iran, which may still be a long way from over, has triggered an energy challenge that highlights the world’s collective failure to face the looming threat of climate disruption. But in a most frightening way, the use of nuclear war has also been explicit and immediate.

This moment now condenses two existential threats – climate disruption and the threat of nuclear war – into one crisis, and one that will remain long after this war subsides.