Decarbonize the military — mandate emissions reporting

Rajaeifar, Mohammad Ali; Belcher, Oliver; Parkinson, Stuart; Neimark, Benjamin; Weir, Doug; Ashworth, Kirsti; Larbi, Reuben; Heidrich, Oliver

doi:10.1038/d41586-022-03444-7

Cited by 15 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…For instance, in the negotiations of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, it was argued by delegates of the United States that the military should be excluded from greenhouse gas reporting requirements, on the basis of national security. Under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), military emissions reporting is similarly opaque, as well as inconsistent between countries, due to varying requirements based on level of economic development (Rajaeifar et al, 2022). Thus, a tendency of under-reporting emissions can reasonably be assumed for most militaries for national security reasons.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Battlefield: Uncovering the Impact of Military Pollution on Human Mortality

Steffens,

Kohl,

Pozzer

2024

Preprint

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Greenhouse gas emissions from militaries across the globe constitute a major fraction of global anthropogenic emissions annually. In addition to negatively impacting the climate, military activity also produces a significant amount of air pollution, which impacts human health. In this study, we numerically estimate the amount of air pollution which originates from military activity at global scale. We estimate its health impact using an exposure response function, finding that 276,446 lives (95% confidence interval 206,839 - 329,510) could have been saved in 2019 in a scenario free of global military activity. This number far exceeds the number of casualties in that year caused by fighting between militaries (78,282) and is on a similar scale as the mortality caused from pollution generated by entire sectors, such as land traffic, and industry. Our results call for immediate efforts toward global demilitarization, or at a minimum, the greening of military technologies and operations. Systematic changes of this kind can potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives per year and could divert important funding toward the existential crises faced by humanity, such as climate change and future pandemics.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond the Battlefield: Uncovering the Impact of Military Pollution on Human Mortality

Steffens,

Kohl,

Pozzer

2024

Preprint

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“…While a partial picture of global military carbon emissions is emerging, we still know very little about how much GHG global militaries produce (Rajaeifar et al. 2022).…”

Section: Geopolitical Ecology and Conflict Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In response, the US military have both put forward strategic climate change policy leading to the decarbonisation of militaries and eventual push to contribute to national net zero targets (Rajaeifar et al. 2022). This discourse emanates directly from recent climate hazards to base infrastructure both domestic and international and the DoD's response in rebuilding and reengineering for a climate change‐proof military (Crawford 2022).…”

Section: Geopolitical Ecology and Conflict Emissionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Concrete Impacts: Blast Walls, Wartime Emissions, and the US Occupation of Iraq

Neimark,

Belcher,

Ashworth

et al. 2023

Antipode

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Militaries around the world are a major source of carbon emissions, yet very little is known about their carbon footprint. Reliable data around military resource use and environmental damage is highly variable. Researchers are dependent upon military transparency, the context of military operations, and broader emissions reporting. While studies are beginning to emerge on global militaries and their carbon footprints, less work has focused on wartime emissions. We examine one sliver of the hidden carbon emissions of late‐modern warfare by focusing on the use of concrete “blast walls” by US forces in Baghdad over a five‐year period (2003–2008). This study uses a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to study one of the world's largest military carbon footprints of concrete, an infrastructural weapon in late‐modern urban counterinsurgencies. Moving beyond dominant discourses on climate‐security and “greening”, we present one of the first studies to expose direct and indirect military emissions resulting from combat.

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“…According to a report by the World Bank in 2018, the U.S. military alone emitted 42 metric tonnes of CO 2 per capita. 7 The usage of jet fuel is a significant source of CO 2 emissions worldwide; in 2018, 905 million tonnes of CO 2 were released by commercial aviation in the world. 8 In terms of CO 2 emissions, commercial aviation would come in sixth place if counted as a nation, after Japan.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The aviation industry, including commercial airlines, private aviation, and military air force, remains heavily reliant on fossil fuels and is thus one of the primary sources of carbon emissions. According to a report by the World Bank in 2018, the U.S. military alone emitted 42 metric tonnes of CO 2 per capita . The usage of jet fuel is a significant source of CO 2 emissions worldwide; in 2018, 905 million tonnes of CO 2 were released by commercial aviation in the world .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sustainable Aviation Fuels for Clean Skies: Exploring the Potential and Perspectives of Strained Hydrocarbons

Wang,

Rijal

2024

Energy Fuels

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Fuel is the lifeblood of the aviation industry. The pressing need to reduce carbon emissions calls for the adoption of sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs) as a feasible alternative, particularly in the absence of widespread hydrogen usage. SAFs with high energy density (HED) hold great promise due to their favorable weight and volume characteristics. This comprehensive review article delves into the history of aviation fuel, essential requirements for aviation fuels, and the imperative for SAF development, focusing on the power-to-liquid (PtL) pathway to produce SAFs. It particularly concentrates on recent advancements in the screening and design of new strained hydrocarbons as high-performance SAFs. By utilizing machine learning (ML) techniques, potential strained hydrocarbon or cycloalkane structures have been identified and optimized, revealing superior potentials for energy content and other critical properties that enhance the efficiency and performance of SAFs. The review also provides a perspective with a forward-looking approach and a route map in the development of new SAFs, including the exploration of strain energy in cycloalkanes through quantum mechanical calculations, the establishment of structure–property relationships for rational design, and the need for a technoeconomic assessment (TEA) of their production. It further highlights the potential new directions in SAF development.

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Decarbonize the military — mandate emissions reporting

Cited by 15 publications

References 5 publications

Beyond the Battlefield: Uncovering the Impact of Military Pollution on Human Mortality

Beyond the Battlefield: Uncovering the Impact of Military Pollution on Human Mortality

Concrete Impacts: Blast Walls, Wartime Emissions, and the US Occupation of Iraq

Sustainable Aviation Fuels for Clean Skies: Exploring the Potential and Perspectives of Strained Hydrocarbons

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