Though many countries are using technological approaches to lower their carbon emissions, states and corporations have also been drawing on more militarised responses when seeking to respond to the underlying social, political and economic drivers of the climate crisis.
However, mainstream discourses on the climate crisis often ignore or significantly downplay its close connection to militarisation. This in turn, has been reflected in the discourses, analysis and communication strategies of many of the organisations pushing for transformative responses. We believe that the climate justice movement are not achievable if the world remains so heavily militarised, and the climate crisis will be used as a pretext to sustain militarised structures if left unchallenged.
Considering all this, we have identified a clear need to develop new strategies, networks and relationships between these movements.
WRI has been developing our strategy on the intersections between militarism and the climate crisis for a number of years. The need for this work is becoming more and more acute, as states seek to address the climate-induced pressures with increasing levels of militarism, as existing conflicts are exacerbated and amplified by climate-induced stresses, and the direct environmental impact of war and preparations for war seem to be widely ignored. We are also rooting our development of this work in dialogue and collaboration with members of the WRI network, and our growing connections and relationships within the climate justice movement internationally. Since our international conference in June 2023 we have facilitated a committee of activists, writers and researchers from across the world, who have supported our strategic planning and development, allowing us to build a strong analysis and project plan around the climate/militarism intersection.
In September 2024 we wrote and published a Short Primer on Militarism and the Climate Crisis. We also helped to organise the first Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice.
