For the first time ever, COP is hosting a thematic day on “Health/Relief, Recovery and Peace”. The “COP28 Declaration Climate, Relief, Recovery, and Peace”, alongside a “package of solutions,” released, seeks to mobilise for more climate action in countries and communities affected by conflict. While the protection and support of those at the frontlines of both conflict and the climate crisis is essential, the declaration fails to address one of the root causes: rampant militarisation.
Recent estimates suggest that global fossil fuel-powered military activity contributes at least 5.5% of global emissions. However, under the Paris Agreement, reporting on military emissions is voluntary, which gives militaries a “de facto” free ride.
Worse still, these estimates do not include emissions arising from active conflict. It has been calculated that the first year of the war in Ukraine has released additional emissions that equal the annual emissions of a highly industrialised country like Belgium. The data for Gaza are yet to be published.
Military emissions positively correlate with military spending: The more governments spend on their militaries, the higher their emissions. In 2022, global military spending rose to an all-time record high of USD 2.24 trillion.
Military spending further diverts crucial resources away from climate mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage. The G20 military expenditure accounts for 87 per cent of last year’s total global military spending figure. These same countries spend 30 times more on their militaries than on climate finance.
ECO asks leaders to reduce and re-allocate military spending to cut emissions as an essential component of an equitable fossil fuel phase-out – and to provide adequate, scaled-up finance which we know is a critical enabler of ambitious climate action.
It is time for COP to address the elephant in the climate room and to recognise that demilitarisation must be a key component of climate justice and peace.
