The Women and Gender Constituency is pleased to share our latest issue brief “Addressing Militarism for Climate Action” authored by the Peace & Demilitarization working group, with particular leadership from our Members the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF).
Key Messages include:
- The UNFCCC has failed to address the relationship between militarism and the climate crisis.
- Allowing states to hide their greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) of their militaries has resulted in a lack of accountability for their impact on the climate crisis.
- States are spending an ever increasing amount on their military budgets while failing to deliver on climate finance commitments.
- Multiple large-scale wars and increasing weapons production, stockpiling, and military activity is increasing global emissions, perpetuating environmental racism, and hindering efforts to mitigate the climate crisis.
Recommendations:
- The UNFCCC must address the impact that militarism is having on the climate crisis.
- Annex II states must be willing to divest from increasing military budgets and invest in climate change mitigation, adaptation, loss and damage and financing a just transition.
- Governments must commit to thorough and transparent reporting of military emissions to the UNFCCC and use the upcoming updates to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to commit to verifiable reduction targets.