According to a new report by the Transnational Institute, the world’s wealthiest nations spend 30 times more money on military power than on tackling climate change.
In the period between 2013 and 2021, Nations with the highest level of pollution spent $9.45 trillion (€9.12tn) on their armed forces, compared to an estimated $243.9 billion on climate finance.
As global military spending has increased, and as the arms industry has expanded into other sectors, such as border control and immigration management, the industry has boomed.
The European Defence Agency (EDA) reported in 2021 that ‘the procurement of new equipment has benefitted most strongly from the overall increase in defence investments’ in recent years
In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and in particular the announcement from Germany that they will spend an extra $100 billion, large arms companies’ shares have skyrocketed.
“Every dollar spent on the military not only increases greenhouse gas emissions, But also diverts financial resources, skills and attention away from tackling one of the greatest existential threats humanity has ever experienced.” – Tni researchers wrote in their report.
The top military spenders, which include Britain, the US and France, also emit the most greenhouse gases.
