The armed forces of countries around the world will no longer be automatically exempted from emissions-cutting obligations under the UN Paris climate deal. The US military is widely thought to be the world’s biggest institutional consumer of crude oil, but its emissions reporting exemptions make this impossible to confirm. According to Department of Defence figures, the US army emitted more than 70 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year in 2014. However, this figure omits facilities including hundreds of military bases overseas, as well as equipment and vehicles and national security activities. In a speech on Tuesday, Donald Trump said he would withdraw America from the landmark 2015 agreement that aims to limit global warming
The armed forces of countries around the world will no longer be automatically exempted from emissions-cutting obligations under the UN Paris climate deal. The US military is widely thought to be the world’s biggest institutional consumer of crude oil, but its emissions reporting exemptions make this impossible to confirm. According to Department of Defence figures, the US army emitted more than 70 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent per year in 2014. However, this figure omits facilities including hundreds of military bases overseas, as well as equipment and vehicles and national security activities. An Oil Change International Report claimed that the Iraq war was responsible for 141 million tonnes of carbon releases in its first four years.