Rising Nato military spending to cause huge spike in emissions, report warns | Climate crisis

A planned expansion of military spending by NATO countries could generate an additional 1,320 million tonnes of planets heating in the next decade – at the height of annual greenhouse gas emissions generated by Brazil, the fifth largest transmitter in the world, according to a new report.

Military activity is an intensity of fossil fuels, but the country’s official data on military emissions are uneven or non -existent.

Now, a review of 11 recent academic studies by scientists for global responsibility has revealed that each additional $ 100 billion in military spending leads to around 32 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (TCO2E) in the atmosphere.

The emissions come from direct sources such as fuel combat aircraft, warships and armored vehicles, as well as indirect transport equipment, complex global supply chains and the effects of war fighting.

NATO, the organization of the North Atlantic Treaty, is a political and military alliance between 32 European and North American countries. In the wake of Ukraine’s invasion by Russia – and the growing threats of Donald Trump to abandon the historic allies – NATO has announced its intention to increase military expenditure to 3.5% of gross domestic product (GDP), as part of a wider safety expenditure of 5% GDP for each member country.

The achievement of the 3.5% target will add 132 million TCO2E to the atmosphere, which is roughly the same quantity of carbon pollution generated each year by 345 gas power plants – or the entire oil producing country in Oman, depending on the report. The expected increase in addition to the increase in funding of $ 200 billion between 2019 and 2024, which has already increased the NATO military imprint by approximately 64 million TCO2.

“It is extremely difficult to see how current and planned military expenditure can be reconciled with the transformative action necessary to prevent dangerous climate change”, according to SGR, an organization of membership based in the United Kingdom that promotes responsible science and technology.

Military emissions are large but difficult to follow, largely due to a lack of transparency and compulsory accounts, and predict how the budget increases will be spent are heavy with uncertainty.

However, the total military carbon footprint was estimated at around 5.5% of global emissions in 2019 – excluding greenhouse gases from war fighting and post -conflict reconstruction. It is more than the combined contribution of civil aviation (2%) and shipping (3%).

Since then, world military spending has increased, reaching 2.72 TN in 2024 – the highest since the end of the Cold War, according to the International Stockholm Peace Research Institute. Israel’s military budget increased to $ 46.5 billion in 2024 – the highest increase in the world when it continued to bomb Gaza, Syria, Iran, Yemen and Lebanon, while the Pentagon budget in 2026 should increase to 1 TN thanks to the Trump tax and expenditure bill, an increase of 17% of last year.

The SGR report is the most complete evaluation to date of the impact of the increase in military expenditure in greenhouse gas emissions, as the planet rushing towards climate disaster and governments do not take significant measures.

The results, which are based on the methodologies used by the 11 studies analyzed, suggest that military expansion will play an important role in the violation of the climate objective of Paris to reduce global warming to 1.5 ° C above pre-industrial levels.

“There is an urgent need for rapid decarbonization to prevent the most dangerous effects of climate change. But the recent and planned recent programs and wars push the world in the opposite direction, “said Dr. Stuart Parkinson, author of the report and leader in the field.

The report recommends that nations with military expenses greater than 0.5% of GDP be mandated to report robust data to the UN, help estimate emissions related to conflicts and set up plans to transmit fossil fuels thanks to technological and non -technical measures, including peace construction agreements, arms control and disarmament initiatives.