JEDCA JAN 10 – The Israel-Palestine war in Gaza has brought concerns over emissions from military activities. A recent study reveals that the war in Gaza has resulted great emissions, bigger than that of 20 climate-vulnerable nations in the world.
Military activities across the world has been pointed out for lack of accountability on the CO2 that they emit. The Gaza war which began on 7th of October last year after Hamas terrorist group waged a surprise attack on Israel has led to massive emissions of CO2.
According to the report by Social Research Network, the war has resulted to more than 280,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent. This is as a result of combat in Gaza, involving military artillery, bombs, armored vehicles and jet fuels used by both Hamas and Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
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Benjamin Neimark, a senior lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London who is the co-author of the report says that carbon emissions and pollutants that resulted from Israel-Palestine war will remain for a long time.
“This study is only a snapshot of the larger military boot print of war. A partial picture of the massive carbon emissions and wider toxic pollutants that will remain long after the fighting is over,” he said.
Military Emissions
Israel Defense Forces has never reported on emission figures despite the massive usage of fossil fuel to power war vehicles, jet and tanks. UN Environmental Programme’s most recent Emission Gap report, military emissions are not sufficiently accounted for by the UNFCCC, but even with incomplete data, researchers have found that militaries account for almost 5.5% of global emissions.
Destruction in Gaza
The report indicates that about 36-45 percent of homes, schools, mosques and hospitals have been destroyed in Gaza. It’s estimated that around 100, 000 structures have been brought down by Israeli missiles and bombs dropped in the besieged enclave exacerbating the already worrying climate situation across the globe.
