Quakers join global call to expose hidden military emissions at COP30
As global leaders meet in Brazil for COP30, Quakers and others are urging them to confront the climate impact of war and rising military spending.
A message initiated by War on Climate warns that military emissions are a “significant blind spot" in global climate policy which is undermining efforts to limit global heating.
With the number of armed conflicts at its highest since World War Two, Quakers and others say the environmental toll of warfare can no longer be treated as incidental.
Attempts to “green" the military are not the solution, Quakers say. Resources should be spent on climate action, diplomacy and peacebuilding to prevent conflicts arising in the first place.
Beyond the immediate human suffering, armed conflict drives significant and largely unreported greenhouse gas emissions.
Global military spending reached $2.7 trillion in 2024 and is climbing rapidly. Each dollar spent on the military generates more than twice the emissions of a dollar spent elsewhere.
Yet most governments report few or none of their military emissions to the UN climate system, leaving what campaigners describe as a “military emissions gap" in global accounting.
Militaries are thought to be responsible for around 5.5 per cent of global emissions. Europe's defence spending alone has risen more than 30 per cent since 2021.
And ambitions among some NATO members for national security budgets of 5 per cent of GDP could result in climate damage valued at nearly $300bn a year.
If current trends continue, global military spending could reach $6.6 trillion by 2035.
Quakers, whose faith leads them to work for peace, equality and care for the Earth, say they stand with War on Climate in urging governments at COP30 to show honesty and accountability.
Together, they are calling for three urgent commitments:
- Include military emissions in global carbon accounting.
- Commit to reducing military emissions.
- Fund climate action, diplomacy and peacebuilding over increasing military spending.
Paul Parker, recording clerk for Quakers in Britain, said: “Peace and climate justice are inseparable.
“We cannot build a safer world by investing in military systems that heat the planet and deepen inequality."