Exposing the Global War Machine as the world's largest greenhouse gas emitter

Published in the January 13th edition of The National, and in the January 15th edition of the Edinburgh Evening News:

Two climate stories appeared in today’s (Jan. 9) headlines: 2023 was the hottest year on record and Israel’s war on Gaza has produced more greenhouse gases than 20 climate vulnerable nations do in a year.

It’s time to lift the veil on the world’s largest single emitter of greenhouse gases – the global war machine, led by the US, the UK and now, Israel, whose military is entirely funded by the US.

Since 1945, the UK has deployed its armed forces 83 times in 47 countries, in conflicts ranging from colonial wars and covert operations to propping up corrupt regimes. It has permanent bases at 145 sites in 42 nations or territories, spending £55.5 billion per year, while the US maintains nearly 800 permanent bases in over 70 nations and territories, spending $850 billion a year. By contrast, Russia has 21 overseas bases and China has 1.

The US military emits 51 m metric tons of carbon a year, a larger polluter than 140 countries combined, and the UK’s military emits 11 m tons a year, not including the emissions caused by actual wars. (In its first 4 years, the Iraq war was responsible for 151m tonnes of carbon releases.) The September 2022 sabotage of the Nordstream pipeline was the biggest release of methane gas on record.

Now the global war machine, led by Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Raytheon, BAE Systems, General Dynamics and Northrup Grumman, is stoking conflicts with Iran and China while the wars in Ukraine and Gaza grind on. 

A glimmer of hope is that a group of emerging economies, the BRICS, that collectively represent 36% of global GDP, is calling for a rebalancing of the world order away from US hegemony based on conflict towards a multipolar world based on cooperation. It’s one that an independent Scotland would welcome.