Report from Transnational Institute, Stop Wapenhandel and Tipping Point, with the collaboration of IPB and Centre Delàs: “Climate collateral. How military spending accelerates climate breakdown”

As the world’s climate negotiators gather for their annual summit (COP27) in Egypt, military spending is unlikely to be on the official agenda. Yet, as this report shows, military spending and arms sales have a deep and lasting impact on the capacity to address the climate crisis, let alone in a way that promotes justice. Every dollar spent on the military not only increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but also diverts financial resources, skills and attention away from tackling one of the greatest existential threats humanity has ever experienced. Moreover, the steady increase in weapons and arms worldwide is also adding fuel to the climate fire, stoking violence and conflict, and compounding the suffering for those communities most vulnerable to climate breakdown.

The trajectory of military spending and GHG emissions are on the same steep upward curve. Global military spending has been rising since the late 1990s, surging since 2014 and reaching a record $2,000bn in 2021. Yet the same countries most responsible for large military expenditure are unable to find even a fraction of the resources or commitment to tackle global heating.

Authors: Mark Akkerman, Deborah Burton, Nick Buxton, Ho-Chih Lin and Muhammed Al-Kashef

Editor: Deborah Eade

This report is published by Transnational Institute with Stop Wapenhandel, Tipping Point North South, International Peace Bureau and Centre Delàs for Peace Studies

Read and download the executive summary in English, in Catalan, in Spanish, in Arabic and in Dutch; and the full report in English.