GCOMS and the ENVIRONMENT
At first glance, the connection between military spending and climate change might not be obvious. And yet there are important links. Firstly, the carbon emissions of the military as a whole are a key factor in global warming. Some analysts go as far as to say that the military is the world’s number one institutional polluter. While it may not be directly proportional, we can in general say that the higher the military budget, the bigger the emissions total – in addition to other effects on the environment.
Secondly, climate change is introducing a new and crucial factor into the calculations of the military themselves. Already for over 10 years the Pentagon has been studying reports of rising sea levels, increased refugee flows, instability in populous countries and other sources of armed violence. Whether more military spending is the appropriate response to such threats is a highly controversial question.
Thirdly, mitigating climate change and adapting to it costs money, a lot of money. So why don’t politicians in major states consider shifting at least some of the overinflated military budget into tackling the planet’s more serious and urgent challenge?
These three issues are dealt with in some detail in IPB’s publications:
They are issues that ought to be of great concern to environmental specialists and advocates. But regrettably, they are generally either ignored or treated as marginal topics. In fact environmental campaigners could play a major role in the development of the GCOMS.