Emissions from Israel’s war in Gaza have ‘immense’ effect on climate catastrophe

JVL Introduction

This article, which appeared earlier this year, looks at the climate consequences of the war on Gaza and war generally.

The Middle East and North Africa are among areas most threatened by climate breakdown with the average rise in temperature from pre-industrial levels in the region likely to hit 4 degrees Centigrade by 2050.

In Palestine the extreme heat already adds to sea level rise and drought to threaten water supplies and food security – without the life-extinguishing effects of the siege and the now continuous genocidal bombardment across Gaza.

Israel and its backers in the US seem deliriously unaware of the environmental impacts of their actions. Military supply and bombardment since October 7th alone had within three months added more greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere than “20 climate vulnerable nations” add in a year.

Across the world military activity adds more emissions than aviation and shipping combined. David Boyd, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights and the environment, calls “Armed conflict…an idiotic way to spend our shrinking carbon budget.”

TB

This article was originally published by the Guardian on Tue 9 Jan 2024. Read the original here.