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the rapid rises in global military spending threaten climate action, undermining our collective security. In a new joint paper we explore how everything from direct emissions to diverted climate finance are threatening SDG 13 on Climate action.

Militaries are huge energy users whose greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) make a significant contribution to the climate crisis. However, countries do not systematically record and report their military emissions so the real share of this source of emissions remains unclear. The Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) and Scientists for Global Responsibility estimate that everyday military activity could be responsible for around 5.5% of global emissions, meaning that if the world’s militaries were a country, they would be the fourth largest emitter in the world.6 Furthermore, as military spending increases and the rest of society decarbonises, that proportion is set to rise.

Since Donald Trump's presidential election victory, major tech companies have abandoned years of policies restricting military work and sought out lucrative defense contracts and deeper connections with the Pentagon.

By putting in place climate change adaptation measures, NATO has an opportunity to both strengthen operational resilience and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The lack of interest in climate adaptation and mitigation among national-security policymakers reflects a profound misunderstanding of the risks that climate change poses to global stability. To avert catastrophe, the international community must help the world’s most vulnerable countries strengthen their resilience.

Over the past week, police have taken brutal steps to suppress ecological movements in Europe and the United States. In Germany, police evicted and destroyed the long-occupied village of Lützerath in a massive operation in order to expand an ecologically devastating open pit coal mine.

The Center for Climate and Security (CCS), a non-partisan institute of the Council on Strategic Risks, has a team and distinguished Advisory Board of security and military experts. CCS envisions a climate-resilient world which recognizes that climate change threats to security are already significant, unprecedented and potentially existential, and acts to address those threats in a manner that is commensurate to their scale, consequence and probability.

A new study by Environmental Working Group scientists found almost 42,000 potential sources of toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS could be polluting surface water or drinking water in communities across the U.S. The scientists called for more testing and stricter PFAS regulations.