Academic papers

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Nature | Decarbonize the military — mandate emissions reporting

01.12.22
This article in Nature outlines the state of military emissions reporting so far and presents a way forward for academia and civil society to combat the problem.

Pentagon fuel use, climate change and the costs of war

01.09.19
Neta Crawford explores the U.S. military’s contribution to climate change. She finds that although the Defense Department has significantly reduced its fossil fuel consumption since the early 2000s, it remains the world’s single largest consumer of oil – and as a result, one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters.

Hidden carbon costs of the ‘everywhere war’: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot-print of the US military

19.06.19
This paper examines the US military's impact on climate by analysing the geopolitical ecology of its global logistical supply chains. It argues that to account for the US military as a major climate actor, one must understand the logistical supply chain that makes its acquisition and consumption of hydrocarbon-based fuels possible.

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Joint call | NATO: Commit to credible climate action

07.09.22
A joint call ahead of COP27 urging NATO to make its methodology for counting emissions public, commit to thorough and transparent reporting, and pledge to cut military emissions.

Joint call | Governments: commit to meaningful military emissions cuts at COP26

20.05.21
A joint civil society call launched by CEOBS that urges governments to set meaningful emissions reduction targets and outlines what these targets need to include to be meaningful. The joint call has been signed by more than 200 organisations.

Articles

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CEOBS | Climate trackers: join us in shining the spotlight on militaries

02.09.22
Pressure from campaigners, researchers and journalists has been instrumental in driving climate action by states and large corporations. Climate action tracking websites and reports play a vital role in informing this process but as Ellie Kinney writes, the leading climate tracking sites are silent on military emissions.

CEOBS | NATO won’t say how it will count its carbon emissions

30.06.22
NATO has pledged to reduce its instituational emissions but won't publish the methodology it will use to count them. Doug Weir argues that this lack of transparency underscores the importance of military emissions instead being addressed by the UNFCCC.

CEOBS | Tracking military greenhouse gas emissions in war and peace

22.06.22
What sources of greenhouse gas emissions should militaries be tracking and reporting on? Ellie Kinney introduces a CEOBS report that examines military emissions in both peacetime and during conflicts.

Media

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Energy Monitor | Nato disappoints with tepid climate action

19.07.22
Although momentum was building for a Nato-wide emissions reduction target, at the alliance's Madrid summit there was no consensus for such bold action. US Journalist Dave Keating talks to CEOBS' Doug Weir.

CNBC | Can war be net-zero? NATO pledges massive revamp of energy-guzzling equipment

30.06.22
Military activities have quietly enjoyed a sense of exceptionalism from environmental norms that other areas of society are expected to follow. Now, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that the 30-member military alliance would reduce emissions by at least 45% by 2030 and reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

Inside Climate News | NATO Moves to Tackle Military Greenhouse Gas Emissions Even While Girding Against Russia

30.06.22
Climate change is on the agenda at a three-day summit in Madrid, as the alliance seeks to respond to the Ukraine crisis.

Reports

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MAPW Australia | Defence Emissions: Briefing Paper

23.11.22
This briefing paper, published by The Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia), explores military emissions within the context of the Australia Defence Force.

Climate damage caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine

01.11.22
This interim assessment, which is focused on four activity areas directly affected by the war, concludes that greenhouse gas emissions for seven months of the full-scale war totals at least 100 million tCO2e. This is the equivalent of the total GHG emissions over the same period in a country like The Netherlands. As a number of impacts of this war…

OSCE | Climate of Change: Reshaping Military Emissions Reporting

20.10.22
OSCE participating states produce approximately a third of the world’s carbon emissions and two-thirds of the world’s military spending. This paper recommends standardising and increasing the transparency of military emissions reporting to prompt broader discussion of the military sector’s environmental impact.

Videos

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CEOBS/CI | Climate change and the military: tracking their carbon emissions

12.01.22
Emissions from militaries make a major contribution to the climate crisis. Just how big this is remains unclear, and without public attention, that's how it will stay. This is why we launched www.militaryemissions.org - it allows anyone to see the military emissions data that the top 60 military spenders report to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Spoiler: most…

DW News | Key polluter exempt from CO2 targets – Militaries lag in green technologies

11.11.21
DW News interview the Military Emissions Gap, a former Estonian defence minister and NATO to explore the growing pressure on militaries to reduce their emissions.

DW Analysis | Carbon bootprint: What’s NATO’s responsibility for the global climate crisis?

22.10.21
In this DW News package, Teri Schultz explores why the military is constantly left out when it comes to combatting climate change, and whether this could this change.