This story was originally published in the Guardian, and reproduced here with the Climate Desk Collaboration. New research shows that the planet-warming emission generated during the first 2 months of the Gaza war was greater than the carbon footprint of over 20 of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. The vast majority of the
As part of the Climate Desk collaboration, this article, which was first published by the Guardian, is reproduced around.
According to new research, the planet-warming emissions produced during the initial two months of the war in Gaza were higher than the monthly carbon footprint of more than 20 countries with the highest levels of climate vulnerability.
According to a first-of-its-kind analysis by researchers in the UK and US, the vast majority ( more than 99 percent ) of the 281, 000 metric tons ( MT ) carbon dioxide ( CO2 equivalent ) estimated to have been generated during the first 60 days following the October 7 Hamas attack can be attributed to Israel’s aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza.
The study found that the climate cost of Israel’s military response during the first 60 days was similar to burning at least 150,000 MT of coal, despite the fact that it is based on a small number of carbon-intensive activities and is thus likely largely understated.
The analysis, which has not yet been peer reviewed, takes into account emissions from the production and detonation of rockets, artillery, and bombs as nicely as CO2 from tank and other vehicles. It excludes different planet-warming gases like methane. US cargo planes transporting martial supplies to Israel were responsible for nearly half of the total CO2 emissions.
Armed conflict is a stupid way to spend our dwindling carbon budget and pushes humanity yet closer to the edge of climate catastrophe.
The asymmetry of each side’s military hardware was demonstrated by the fact that during the same time period, Hamas rockets fired into Israel produced about 713 MT of CO2, or roughly 300 tonnes of coal.
The information, which was only made available to the Guardian, offers the second, albeit conservative, estimate of the carbon cost associated with the ongoing conflict in Gaza. This conflict is resulting in unheard-of human suffering, infrastructure damage, and climate catastrophe.
It comes at a time when there are growing calls for more transparency regarding military greenhouse gas emissions, which are generally kept under wraps and unaccounted for in the yearly UN negotiations on climate action but play an enormous role in climate crisis.
According to Benjamin Neimark, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary University of London and co-author of the study that was published on Social Science Research Network on Tuesday,” This study is just an example of what the larger military boot print of war looks like …a partial picture to the huge carbon emissions and wider harmful pollutants that will remain long after the fighting is over.”
According to earlier research, if emissions from the whole war supply chain were taken into account, the real carbon footprint might be five to eight times greater.
As if the carbon emissions spitting from their tanks and fighter jets do n’t matter, the military’s environmental exceptionalism permits them to pollute without consequence. Neimark, who collaborated with researchers at the University of Lancaster and the Climate and Community Project, a US-based climate policy thinktank, added,” This has to stop; we need accountability to address the climate crisis.
Since Hamas has killed as numerous as 1, 200 Israelis, Israel has bombarded Gaza for the first time, wreaking havoc and causing widespread death. Nearly 23, 000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have been killed, according to the Gaza health authority, and thousands more are buried beneath the debris that is thought to be dead. UN agencies estimate that 85 percent of the population has been violently displaced and is in danger of going without food or water. In Gaza, more than 100 Jewish hostages are still being held captive, and hundreds of Jewish soldiers have died.
The conflict is aggravating the international climate emergency, which extends far beyond the CO2 emissions from bombs and airplanes, in addition to the quick suffering.
Just as it does in another post contexts like Iraq,” the military detritus will continue to live in the soil, earth, sea, and bodies of the Palestinians living in Gaza.”
According to the new study, at least 30 million MT of warming gases will be produced by the carbon cost of rebuilding Gaza’s 100,000 damaged buildings using modern construction methods. This compares to New Zealand’s monthly CO2 emissions and is higher than 135 different nations and territories, including Uruguay, Sri Lanka, and Lebanon.
This study aids in our understanding of the enormous magnitude of defense emissions—from planning for war, carrying it out, and rebuilding after war—according to David Boyd, the UN special rapporteur for individual rights and the environment. Armed conflict is a stupid way to spend our dwindling carbon budget and pushes humanity yet closer to the edge of climate catastrophe.
Water supplies and food security in Palestine were now in danger due to climate effects like sea level rise, drought, and intense heat. As many of Gaza’s farmland, energy, and water infrastructure has been destroyed or polluted, the economic situation is currently catastrophic, with serious health repercussions likely for decades to come, according to experts. Buildings in Gaza, including homes, schools, mosques, hospitals, and shops, have all been destroyed or damaged between 36 percent and 45 percent of the time. Construction is a significant contributor to global warming.
According to Zena Agha, a policy analyst at Al-Shabaka, the Palestinian Policy Network, who also writes about the Israeli occupation and the climate crisis,” the catastrophic aerial attack on Gaza wo n’t stop when there is no ceasefire.” As it does in another post contexts like Iraq, the military debris will continue to exist in the soil, earth, sea, and bodies of the Palestinians residing in Gaza.
The effects of war and occupation on the climate are generally badly understood. Only four nations submit some incomplete data to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC), which organizes the annual climate talks, and reporting military emissions is voluntary in large part due to pressure from the US.
One recent study discovered that militaries, more than the aviation and shipping industries combined, account for nearly 5.5 percent of annual greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Even without accounting for emission spikes brought on by conflicts, this puts the US, China, and India as the fourth-largest martial carbon footprint worldwide.
War, security, and the climate crisis were on the agenda at Cop28 in Dubai last month as a result of the charitable and economic catastrophe in Gaza and Ukraine, but no significant steps were taken to increase transparency and accountability for the military forces or the military sector.
In areas like carbon capture and storage, water harvesting, and plant-based meat alternatives, the Jewish delegation was primarily promoting its burgeoning climate tech industry. According to Gideon Behar, special envoy for climate change and sustainability, Israel’s biggest contribution to the climate crisis comes in the form of the solutions.
” We’re putting too many of our eggs in the military basket when we actually have a little more dire emergency facing all of us, so we are preparing for the bad risks.”
The Guardian was informed by Israel’s director of Middle East financial relations, Ran Peleg, that no discussion had been had regarding the calculation of greenhouse gas emissions from IDF operations, whether they were ongoing or previous. Really, this is the first time this problem has been brought up, and I’m not sure how to count these kinds of things.
We are working to address the climate crisis, but even before the war in Gaza, it is difficult to adapt and mitigate when we are unable to access water, land, or any technologies without Israel’s permission, according to Hadeel Ikhmais, head of the Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority.
The Israeli government and the Palestinian government do n’t seem to have ever provided the UNFCCC with military emissions data.
According to the new study, Israel’s monthly baseline defense carbon footprint—without taking conflict into account—was close to 7 million MT of CO2 in 2019. This is roughly equivalent to the amount of CO2 produced by the whole country of Cyprus and 55 % higher than the total emissions of Palestine.
According to Hamas’s ad hoc offensive capabilities, researchers claim that no close martial emissions calculation for Palestine was possible.
However, perhaps before October 7th, the Israel-Palestine situation was unusual. According to Israeli occupation, blockade, population density, and the worsening climate crisis, the majority of Palestinians in held Gaza already experienced significant food, water, or energy insecurity. However, rocket fire has long been a concern for Israelis.
Researchers calculated the carbon footprint of war-related practical infrastructure, such as the walls and tunnels built by Hamas and Israel since 2007, in order to capture some of the climate effects of this military environment.
According to the study, building the Gaza Metro—the 500 km underground network of tunnels used to move and hide everything from basic supplies to weapons, Hamas fighters, and hostages—emitted an estimated 176, 000 MT of greenhouse gas emissions, which is higher than the island nation of Tonga emits periodically.
Nearl sensors, razor wire, a 274, 20-foot great metal fence, and substantial concrete barriers. One of the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations, the Central African Republic, emits emissions that are about on par with this in 2022.
In addition to providing Israel with billions of dollars in military aid, weapons, and other equipment that it deploys in Gaza and the West Bank, the US contributes significantly to martial carbon emissions.
At least 200 British cargo flights were reportedly responsible for delivering 10,000 MT of military hardware to Israel by December 4. According to the study, the flights released about 50 million liters of aviation fuel, more than the whole island of Grenada did next year, spewing an estimated 133, 000 MT of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
According to co-author Patrick Bigger, research director at the thinktank CCP,” The role of the US in the people and climate destruction of Gaza cannot be overstated.”
And not just in Gaza either. According to independent research by Neta Crawford, the author of The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War, in 2022 the US military produced an estimated 48 million MT of CO2. This baseline defense carbon footprint was higher than the annual emissions of 150 distinct nations and territories, including Norway, Ireland, and Azerbaijan, excluding emissions from attacks on Islamic State oil infrastructure in 2022.
According to Crawford, the Gulf region, a hotspot for climate change that is warming half as quickly as the rest of the inhabited world, contributes about 20 % of US military operating emissions each year to protecting geological fuel interests there. However, rather than focusing on its role in the climate crisis, the US, like another Nato nations, is primarily concerned with it as a threat to national security.
Climate change is the most pressing and particular issue facing Palestine in the upcoming decades.
” Very simply, by putting too many of our eggs in the military basket, we are preparing for the wrong risks when we truly face a much more serious emergency. According to Crawford, the Montague Burton professor of international relations at Oxford University, integrating military resources into the [energy ] transition is low-hanging fruit.
Israel did not want this war, said Lior Haiat, a spokesperson for the Jewish ministry of foreign affairs, in response to the carbon analysis. The Hamas terror organization, which killed, murdered, executed, and kidnapped more than 240 people, including children, women and the old, forced it upon us.
The occupation and war on Gaza since October 7 have exacerbated climate change, which is the most pressing and certain issue facing the state of Palestine in the upcoming decades, according to Ikhmais, the Arab climate director. Recognizing the economic impact of war is essential because the military attacks ‘ carbon emissions go against the UNFCCC and Paris Agreement’s goal. As part of the Climate Desk collaboration, this article, which was first published by the Guardian, is reproduced below. According to new research, the planet-warming emissions produced during the initial two months of the war in Gaza were higher than the monthly carbon footprint of more than 20 countries with the highest levels of climate vulnerability. the great majority ( more than 99 percent ) of
This story was originally published in the Guardian, and reproduced here with the Climate Desk Collaboration. New research shows that the planet-warming emission generated during the first 2 months of the Gaza war was greater than the carbon footprint of over 20 of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. The vast majority of the
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2024/01/gaza-israel-war-hamas-carbon-emissions-climate-damage/
