To help you learn more about demilitarisation and why it is crucial to achieving a more sustainable and peaceful future, we’ve put together a list of the top ten things you need to know about demilitarisation for climate justice from an intersectional feminist perspective. 

1. What do we mean by demilitarisation? 

Demilitarisation prevents conflict by addressing its root causes. It includes transparency and accountability for the ecological impacts of military activity and conflicts; implementation of international disarmament and arms control agreements; reallocation of military spending to gender-transformative climate action; investment into diplomacy and environmental peacebuilding; uplifting of intersectional feminist analysis of safety and security; and a just transition from war economies to green care economies and the regeneration of the planet.

2. Global military activity contributes approximately 5.5% of total global emissions. 

To put this into perspective: emissions from the civilian aviation industry account for roughly 2.5%. When we combine the emissions from all the world’s armed forces, they would rank as the fourth-largest national emitter, behind China, the United States and India. 

3. Ongoing conflicts produce significant emissions, on top of emissions originating from military operations. 

Missiles, bombs and the resulting destruction of infrastructure and entire ecosystems, including carbon sinks as a result of forest fires, all combine to create massive amounts of emissions. The reconstruction of conflict-destroyed infrastructure and buildings again relies on fossil fuels and other materials. The first year of the war in Ukraine released emissions that roughly equal the annual output of a country like Belgium. 

4. The military can’t be greened. 

Militaries are not able and willing to decarbonise at the speed and urgency required. For example, they continue to count on the production and availability of fossil fuel-powered fighter jets, ships and vehicles for decades to come. Even if the decarbonisation of militaries was possible, it would not suffice to address their overall impacts as militaries’ resource consumption would continue to pose significant environmental, human rights and conflict risks. Their highly energy-intensive operations require extensive use of finite natural resources, making even ‘green’ militaries costly in both ecological and financial terms.

5. Skyrocketing military spending correlates with increased emissions and  diverts resources away from investments into mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage funding. 

In 2022, global military expenditures reached an unprecedented high of $2.24 trillion. The richest countries (categorised as Annex II in UN climate negotiations) are spending 30 times more on their militaries than on providing climate finance to the most impacted communities. 

6. A global reduction in military spending would decrease emissions and free up resources to address the climate crisis and human security. 

One year’s military spending by the top 10 military spenders would pay for the promised international climate finance for 15 years (at $100 billion a year). $70 billion of climate adaptation could be paid with just 3% of annual global military spending.

7. Militarised responses to the climate crisis are not a solution. 

Increasingly, governments are framing the climate crisis as a “threat multiplier”, a positioning that seeks to justify the military as a “solution” to these perceived “threats”. This, in turn, justifies ever-increasing military expenditure and diverts attention away from the need for systems transformation for real climate justice.

8. Militarism and patriarchy are mutually reinforcing systems of oppression, both of which are driving the climate crisis. 

Militarism is underpinned by a patriarchal system that has normalised the use of military means, violence and dominance to address conflict and instability, and now the climate crisis. Feminists demand the abolition of all systems of oppression and therefore stand for demilitarisation for climate justice. 

9. Women in all their diversity and other marginalised communities are disproportionately impacted by militarisation and the climate crisis. 

This is because these groups are more likely to experience poverty, discrimination and violence, which can restrict their ability to access resources and adapt to changing environmental and societal conditions. 

10. Women and girls in all their diversity are at the forefront of both the climate and peace movements. 

Women are championing peace, demilitarisation and gender-just climate solutions from the local to international levels. It is essential to amplify their demands and incorporate feminist perspectives for peace and climate justice in policy-making and international agreements. 

Learn more 

For more information about COP28, WILPF’s work on ecological justice and the relationship between militarism and the environment, please check out the following resources. 

• About WILPF’s Participation in COP28 and Our Key Advocacy Goals
• About COP28
• About WILPF’s work on peace, feminism and the environment  
• About the environmental toll of military operations and weapons production
• Dedicated page for WILPF at COP28 info, delegates and updates

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