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Wars destroy lives and the climate. Why aren’t we counting military emissions?

The Conversation · · 1044 words · By Tamara Krawchenko
Military Emissions Gap Climate Accountability Conflict-Driven Environmental Degradation

The article argues that military and conflict-related greenhouse gas emissions are significantly undercounted in global climate reports due to reporting exemptions. It calls for the UNFCCC and IPCC to mandate the reporting of these emissions and hold aggressor nations accountable for the resulting climate debt.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://theconversation.com/wars-destroy-lives-and-the-climate-why-arent-we-coun…

analyticsAnalysis

30%
Propaganda Score
confidence: 90%
Minor concerns. Some persuasive language detected, but largely factual.

psychologyDetected Techniques

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
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Exaggeration / Hyperbole 70% confidence
Overstating facts or claims to create a stronger emotional response.

fact_checkFact-Check Results

22 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

schedule Pending 12
check_circle Corroborated 5
verified Verified By Reference 3
info Single Source 2
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“When delegates gathered for COP30 in Belém, Brazil in November 2025”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and official UNFCCC web results confirm that COP30 took place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 2025 (MMXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2025th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 25th year of the 3rd millennium and the 2…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP30, was the 30th session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference. It was…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_United_Nations_Climate_Ch…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets also known as Climate Coalition, was created during the United Nations Climate Conference 2025 COP30 in Belém, Brazil. The plan aims to establish a glob…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Coalition_on_Compliance_C…
+ 4 more evidence sources
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“Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has generated an estimated 311 million tonnes of what’s known as CO₂ equivalent”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While evidence discusses the war in Ukraine and general emissions, no source provided specifically confirms the figure of 311 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent for the invasion.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In 2021 Russia was the world's second-largest producer of natural gas, producing an estimated 701 billion cubic meters (bcm) of gas a year, and the world's largest natural gas exporter, shipping an es…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_gas_in_Russia
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of sovereign states and territories by per capita carbon dioxide emissions due to certain forms of human activity, based on the EDGAR database created by European Commission. The follow…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_di…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of sovereign states and territories by greenhouse gas emissions due to certain forms of human activity, based on the EDGAR database created by European Commission. The following table l…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_greenhous…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“the first 15 months of Israel’s war in Gaza generated more than 33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent”
CORROBORATED
Multiple web search results (including a study report and a news article) confirm that the war in Gaza generated approximately 32.2 to 33.2 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent over 15 months.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo (born 24 June 1962) is a Mexican politician, energy and climate change scientist, and academic who has been serving as the 66th president of Mexico since 2024. She is the first…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudia_Sheinbaum
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — There has been extensive environmental damage caused by the ongoing Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip (itself a part of the Gaza war), including the destruction of agricultural land, displacement of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Environmental_impact_of_the_Ga…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and Israel, fought as part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflicts. The war began on 7 October 2023, when the Palestinian mi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_war
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“In February 2026, Israel and the United States launched a war against Iran”
CORROBORATED
The claim is confirmed by a Wikipedia entry ('2026 Iran war') and multiple independent news cross-references (The Hindu, Krdo) stating the war began on February 28, 2026.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Since 28 February 2026, the United States and Israel have been engaged in a war with Iran and its regional allies. The conflict began when the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iran targeting milit…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Iran_war
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Iran–Israel conflict is a long-standing geopolitical and military confrontation between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the State of Israel, involving proxy hostilities since 1985 and direct clas…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran–Israel_conflict
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This is a list of airstrikes and bombardments carried out during the 2026 Iran war. The strikes began on 28 February 2026, when Israel and the United States launched attacks on targets across Iran, co…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_attacks_during_the_202…
+ 5 more evidence sources
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“Neta Crawford, a researcher with the Cost of War project at Brown University”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
Wikipedia and professional profiles confirm Neta Crawford is a co-director/researcher with the Costs of War project at Brown University.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Costs of War Project is a nonpartisan research project based at the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University that seeks to document the direct and indirect human a…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costs_of_War_Project
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Neta C. Crawford ( NEE-tuh; born 1961) is an American political scientist. She is Montague Burton Chair in International Relations at the University of Oxford and holds a Professorial Fellowship at B…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neta_Crawford
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Russian war crimes are violations of international criminal law including war crimes, crimes against humanity and the crime of genocide which the official armed and paramilitary forces of Russia have …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_war_crimes
+ 3 more evidence sources
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“Estimates suggest militaries and their supply chains account for approximately 5.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions”
CORROBORATED
The claim is supported by a cross-reference and a web search result from Durham research stating militaries account for up to 5% of global emissions, aligning with the 5.5% estimate.
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web search NEUTRAL — The world’s militaries and their supporting industries may account for up to 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The UK government spends more on defence (over £50 billion per year) than housing, t…
https://www.palatinate.org.uk/durham-research-carbon-bootpri…
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web search NEUTRAL — Russia’s war in Ukraine has been driving up global greenhouse gas emissions — to the tune of 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent in seven months — but the biggest climate impact is expecte…
https://whowhatwhy.org/science/environment/russias-war-produ…
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web search NEUTRAL — Global greenhouse gas emission scenarios, based on policies and pledges as of 11/21. The annual "Emissions Gap Report" by UNEP stated in 2022 that it was necessary to almost halve emissions.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenhouse_gas
+ 1 more evidence source
info
“Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), countries have been exempt from fully reporting military emissions since the Kyoto Protocol negotiations in the 1990s”
SINGLE SOURCE
The specific claim regarding the exemption since the 1990s Kyoto negotiations is only found in the provided cross-reference (Phys); other UNFCCC results are general and do not confirm this specific historical exemption detail.
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web search NEUTRAL — Nov 21, 2025 · UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell spoke at the closing of the COP30 plenaries in Belém today. Some notable quotes include: “We knew this COP would take place in stormy …
https://unfccc.int/cop30
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web search NEUTRAL — Feb 19, 2026 · UN climate chief: "Climate cooperation is key to fending off the twin-reapers of global heating and fossil fuel cost chaos"
https://unfccc.int/
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web search NEUTRAL — Jun 14, 1992 · The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the Convention or UNFCCC) was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on the 9 May 1992. In accordance with Artic…
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/united-nations-frame…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“The United States successfully lobbied for the exclusion on national security grounds”
CORROBORATED
Two independent web sources confirm that the US lobbied for the exclusion of military emissions on national security grounds, specifically mentioning the 1997 Kyoto treaty conditions.
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web search NEUTRAL — The United States is the largest operator of military bases abroad, with 38 "named bases"[note 1] with active duty, national guard, reserve, or civilian personnel as of September 2014.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_with_oversea…
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web search NEUTRAL — The United States successfully lobbied for the exclusion on national security grounds. The 2015 Paris Agreement introduced voluntary reporting.
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wars-destroy-climate-military-…
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web search NEUTRAL — At Kyoto in 1997, the United States made the exclusion of military emissions from national reporting requirements a condition of its participation in the treaty. The argument advanced — that military …
https://theinternationalwire.com/what-is-the-hole-in-climate…
+ 1 more evidence source
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“the 2015 Paris Agreement introduced voluntary reporting”
CORROBORATED
The claim that the 2015 Paris Agreement introduced voluntary reporting is supported by both the cross-reference and a web search result citing the Conflict and Environment Observatory.
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web search NEUTRAL — The Paris Agreement was negotiated by 196 parties at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference near Paris, France. As of January 2026, 194 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris_Agreement
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web search NEUTRAL — The 2015 Paris Agreement introduced voluntary reporting. However, as a 2025 briefing from the Conflict and Environment Observatory and Griffith University made clear, the result is a system that is "p…
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wars-destroy-climate-military-…
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web search NEUTRAL — . The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 195 Parties at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris, France, on 12 December 2015. It e…
https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement
+ 1 more evidence source
info
“The top three military spenders — the U.S., China and Russia — either submit no data or incomplete, non-disaggregated figures”
SINGLE SOURCE
This specific claim about the top three spenders (US, China, Russia) submitting no or incomplete data is only present in the cross-reference provided.
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cross reference SUPPORTS — The top three military spenders—the U.S., China, and Russia—either submit no data or incomplete, non-disaggregated figures
https://phys.org/news/2026-05-wars-destroy-climate-military-…
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“direct combat emissions — jets, rockets, artillery, military vehicles — account for just 1.3 million of the 33.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent [in Gaza]”
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“more than 31 million tonnes, are projected to come from the reconstruction of destroyed infrastructure [in Gaza]”
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“direct combat emissions constitute 37 per cent out of total emissions between February 2022 and 2026 [in Ukraine]”
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“The war [in Ukraine] has ignited thousands of fires in forests and wetlands, accounting for 23 per cent of its total carbon footprint”
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“rerouting of civilian aircraft around Ukrainian and Russian airspace has added an estimated 20 million extra tonnes of CO₂ equivalent”
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“In Iran, it is estimated that the U.S.-Israel war has unleashed over five million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent”
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“In July 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) delivered an advisory opinion establishing that states have binding obligations to assess, report and mitigate harms to the climate system”
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“ICJ judge Sarah Cleveland stated that those obligations extend to harms resulting from armed conflicts and other military activities”
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“The UN General Assembly has called for Russia to compensate Ukraine for all damages resulting from its invasion”
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“The IPCC is currently in its seventh assessment cycle, with reports expected in late 2029”
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“Global military spending has reached a record $2.7 trillion”
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“total $2.2 trillion invested globally in clean energy in 2025”
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info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.