Increase in NATO military spending leads to increase in CO2 emissions by 15%
In 2023, military expenditures by NATO member states led to emissions of about 233m tonnes of greenhouse gases in CO2 equivalent – 15 percent up than a year earlier and more than Colombia and Qatar’s annual greenhouse gas emissions – according to the report of the Netherlands Transnational Institute (TNI), TASS reports
“Our study shows that the growth of [NATO’s] military spending increases greenhouse gas emissions, deprives climate change projects of necessary funding and stimulates the arms trade, which exacerbates the unstable situation in the context of the climate crisis,” the research centre said in a publication. According to it, in 2023, the North Atlantic Alliance allocated $1.34 trillion for military needs – $126bn more than a year earlier. This has led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions by NATO countries by 15 percent.”
The main reason for this development is NATO’s modernisation of military equipment, which consumes more and more fossil fuels, e.g., the F-35 fighter jets consume more fuel than the F-16.
The institute pointed out that if NATO countries bring their defence spending figures to 2 percent of GDP, then by 2028 the total amount of greenhouse gases they emit into the atmosphere will amount to 2bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent. The report underlines that the additional $2.57 trillion that the alliance intends to invest in military build-up would be enough to implement measures to combat climate change in low- and middle-income countries until 2031.
