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Category Archives: Military and the environment

Nov62025

Pete Hegseth raises a hand palm out as he and male colleagues walk through a NATO meeting.

New data reveals the Military Emissions Gap is growing wider

Blog, Blog, Military and the environment, Military emissions blogs, Projects, Slider, TopicBy ConEnvObsNovember 6, 2025

Our 2025 analysis of the military emissions data that countries report to the UNFCCC reveals that reporting is getting worse. Grace Alexander explores how, at a time of growing military spending, the expanding military emissions gap is undermining climate accounting and ambition.

Nov52025

The top half of the image is a ruined building, the top floor has collapsed leaving piles of rubble, the bottom half of the image is brown floodwater, with the ruins reflected in it.

Militarisation and the climate crisis in South Asia

Blog, Blog, Military and the environment, Military emissions blogs, Projects, Slider, TopicBy ConEnvObsNovember 5, 2025

Countries in South Asia are being hard hit by the climate crisis. In this guest post, Usman Ali examines how Pakistan and India’s security choices are leading to increasing military spending and emissions, while undermining human and environmental security.

Jul162025

A wood-paneled parliamentary committee room, in which 10 people are seated in discussion around a large U-shaped table. Behind them to one side are five more people at two smaller tables. In the centre of the U, two large screens display three remote participants in the meeting. One of the women participants is also shown speaking in an inset in the corner of the image.

CEOBS gives evidence on military PFAS use at parliamentary hearing

Blog, Law and policy, Military and the environment, Military and the environment, Slider, TopicBy Simon WatkinsJuly 16, 2025

Attention on the military uses of PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ is largely restricted to firefighting foams, in our evidence to a UK parliamentary hearing on PFAS we argued that more research is urgently needed on releases from applications such as munitions.

May222025

A composite of four images showing fibre optic cable waste on the battlefield. 1. Close up of the cable wrapped round someone's hand, it is about the same thickness and translucency as nylon fishing line. 2. A close up of the wheels of a grey 4x4 vehicle in long grass, a large quantity of cable is wrapped around its wheels and axles. 3. A new arable crop of young wheat plants taken when the sun is low, you can see the cable picked out by the light lying across the top of the crop. 4. The tops of small leafless trees against a grey sky, large quantities of cable are hanging from the branches - a note observes that this appears to be of greater thickness.

Plastic pollution from fibre optic drones may threaten wildlife for years

Blog, Country, Military and the environment, Slider, Topic, UkraineBy ConEnvObsMay 22, 2025

Russia’s war in Ukraine has encouraged a rapid increase in the deployment of drones that use fibre optic cables to protect them from being jammed or downed by electronic warfare: the drones trail kilometres of plastic cable across frontlines – what are the environmental risks of this tech?

May132025

A crowd of UN Peacekeepers is visible in the foreground, wearing camouflage uniform and their distinctive blue helmets emblazoned with a white "UN". In the background brown arid desert. Around 40 troops are visible.

The importance of tackling the climate impacts of UN Peacekeeping

Blog, Military and the environment, Military emissions blogs, Projects, Slider, TopicBy ConEnvObsMay 13, 2025

To mark this week’s UN Peacekeeping Ministerial in Berlin, Ellie Kinney explains its potential role in improving transparency over the reporting of military GHG emissions and shares recommendations that would help encourage decarbonisation.

Mar252025

A photo from ground level looks up at soldiers carrying the EU flag in a parade, the flag is lit up by the blue sky and sunny weather above.

Military climate action has never been more urgent, here’s why

Blog, Blog, Military and the environment, Military emissions blogs, Projects, Slider, TopicBy ConEnvObsMarch 25, 2025

Ellie Kinney explores why ramping up military spending while military decarbonisation is in its infancy risks locking in carbon-intensive military equipment for decades, why spiralling military spending is placing climate action and our collective security at risk, and what needs to happen next.

Feb172025

This night firing image shows the dark silhouette of the self-propelled artillery in a wooded area. The trees and part so the vehicle are lit up from the flash of the gun muzzle, clouds of gas are coming from each side of the gun and are illuminated white and orange.

PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ are in munitions, and other military applications too

Blog, Military and the environment, Slider, TopicBy ConEnvObsFebruary 17, 2025

Pressure to ban PFAS ‘forever chemicals’ over their toxicity and environmental persistence is growing but their military applications beyond firefighting foams have received limited attention. Linsey Cottrell explores their broader military uses, and why regulators shouldn’t let militaries keep using them.

Feb192024

A soldier looks out of a helicopter above the Hurrican Katrina floods, which have engulfed residential areas of New Orleans.

Ticking boxes: are military climate mitigation strategies fit for purpose?

Blog, Blog, Military and the environment, Military emissions blogs, Projects, SliderBy ConEnvObsFebruary 19, 2024

Militaries are increasingly publishing climate mitigation strategies, so we’ve developed checklists to evaluate them. In this post Linsey Cottrell introduces the checklists, and also compares military decarbonisation with another challenging sector: healthcare.

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