Our Chair, Sue Claydon has had a letter published in the Church Times raising the subject of the impact of military emissions on greenhouse gases, emissions which have been left out of overall calculations of harmful emissions.
The text of the letter is as follows.
As we all watch and pray for those at COP 26 to make the right decisions and commitments for
saving our planet, there is one area missing from the calculations each country is using. Military
emissions have been left out of the greenhouse gas calculations.
During the negotiations of the 1997 Kyoto Treaty, military greenhouse gas emissions were exempted
and that tradition has continued. At the 2015 Paris Agreement cutting military greenhouse gas
emissions was left to the discretion of individual countries.
The links between the environment and violence/war are being cited by many, including the
Archbishop of Canterbury on the Today programme (on 1 November).
A major factor in the outcomes of COP26 will be the agreements on reducing a country’s carbon
footprint. To reflect a ‘real’ goal, the gas emissions of the military must be included.
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