This is posted on the blog
On the occasion of the convening of the 31st Conference of Parties (COP31) signatory to the Climate Change Convention being held in Türkiye, I am presenting online in an ancillary meeting reflecting the position of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability at Bethlehem University. Here is the statement I made:
We cannot seriously address the climate crisis while ignoring war, militarism, occupation, and the enormous environmental costs of colonization. Here in Palestine the colonial genocide and ethnic cleansing of our people since 1948 resulted in half a million killed and now 8.5 million displaced or refugees. We are working now to get the UN to pass an ecocide convention similar to the genocide convention.
The ecocide is global problem and goes beyond borders. There is no other area where more bombs were dropped relative to population size than Western Asia. The ecocide is more than just war effect and it does go beyond borders. The Zionist drying up of the Jordan river basin affects four countries.. the uprooting of millions of trees, the pollution from the war on the people of Gaza is spreading along the Mediterranean coastline resulting affecting habitats and people. War is also a climate issue as military activities consume enormous quantities of fossil fuels, destroy infrastructure, generate toxic pollution, and release greenhouse gases. These are often poorly reported or excluded from national climate accounting.
The destruction of Gaza generated enormous greenhouse gas emissions, both directly through military operations and indirectly through the destruction and future reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure. A recent study published in March this year reported 33.2 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent produced to destroy Gaza which is a tiny area of 365 square kilometers. This is a conservative figure that does not take into account the destroyed trees (we studied those by remote sensing) nor of the jet fuel burned in countless US/Israeli sorties to bomb Lebanon, Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Iran. The 2026 One Earth study estimated that US deliveries of military equipment to Israel between October 2023 and January 2025 involved approximately 50,000 tonnes of supplies transported through 507 aircraft and 107 ship journeys.
The United States which remains the largest single cause of climate change emissions (exempterd from reporting these) has nearly depleted its stockpile of missiles via deliveries to Israel. Military infrastructure, walls, fortifications and security installations also require enormous quantities of concrete, steel and energy.
The long-term environmental costs is catastrophic: contaminated soil and water, destruction of agricultural land, damaged wastewater systems, loss of vegetation, and even more people dying from diseases and deprivation than those killed directly by these weapons. More studies and public attention are needed on all of this.
The destruction of ecosystems like has happened in Palestine makes communities less resilient to climate change. Destruction of trees, agricultural land and natural vegetation reduces carbon storage. Soil degradation reduces water infiltration and groundwater recharge. Destruction of wetlands and natural habitats undermines biodiversity and ecosystem services. Damage to water, sewage and electricity infrastructure increases pollution and dependence on burning wood and diesel for fuel. Destruction of agricultural systems undermines food sovereignty and increases dependence on imported food.
UNEP's September 2025 assessment provides particularly disturbing evidence. By May 2025, 97.1% of tree crops and 82.4% of annual crops in Gaza had been damaged. Approximately 61 million tonnes of debris would require management.
Climate justice requires accountability, not selective accounting. There is a fundamental contradiction in international climate policy. Governments demand carbon reductions from ordinary citizens, farmers and industries while military emissions remain inadequately accounted for. The Paris Agreement climate framework does not impose a comprehensive mandatory reporting system for military emissions. Thus we demand mandatory, transparent reporting of military greenhouse gas emissions, including arms production, military logistics, combat operations and reconstruction.
We often speak about saving the planet for future generations. But what does that mean to a Palestinian child growing up in Gaza, whose home, school, agricultural land, water resources and natural environment have been destroyed? What does climate justice mean when billions are spent on weapons while communities struggle for clean water, food and the basic conditions for life? We cannot separate the climate crisis from militarism, colonialism and the unequal distribution of power. We cannot talk about sustainability while financing destruction.
We the ordinary citizens have the burden of responsibility not only to report this climate abuse but offer alternatives. Our Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability provides practical on the ground community led models for peace building, mitigation, adaptation, reduction and much more. Our vision is sustainable human and natural communities and our motto is respect: for ourselves (empowerment), for other people and for mother nature. Peace is an environmental necessity. Justice is a prerequisite for sustainability. And protecting nature means protecting the right of people to live in dignity, freedom and harmony with their environment.
Also see this from Ghassan Shahrour https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/climate-militarized-security-cop31
and this is what I wrote about COP 28 held in UAE (presided over then by the prvious minister of Petroleum!):
"The problem with COP28 is the problem of the previous 27 COPs: they are meetings of government officials beholden to lobbies and lobbyists for the biggest polluters (2400 lobbyists attending this year). If anything the quality of these participating officials (environmental ministers etc) has gotten worse. As Greta Thunberg said, they go 'bla bla bla" while our world is being destroyed. While there were attempts to challenge the US hegemony with groups like BRICS and ASEAN, the US still determines agendas and goals. Further, the US foreign policy is driven by domestic lobby activities (Zionists and the military-industrial complex). While a genocide is ongoing in Gaza, those "VIPs" frolic in swimming pools, drink champaign, and have all their conversations all recorded so that they can be further blackmailed (a Chinese national found 9 recording devises in his hotel room in Abu Dhabi). The Zionist control of the UAE and other parts of the world is strong and they already flex their muscles. COP28 will thus succeed in producing more oil and military deals like the 27 before it. My own hope is that people of developing countries not under this hegemony (Venezuela, Brazil, Cuba, China, Iran etc) will form alliances to challenge this corrupt and hypocritical system. People must become more assertive and 1) push against militarism and war (which is a HUGE contributor to climate change and environmental injustice, 2) push against the unipolar hegemonic ways of Israel/US and their spineless banana republics (Arab Countries, UK, EU countries, etc)."
An Open Letter from the Climate Movement: We Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians in Their Struggle for Liberation
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1N-vYddVmTqIi301I1eBk5eKotOzRwguQjL3k7vBVg_E/edit
Stay human
No comments:
Post a Comment