Joining Forces with the World Peace Foundation: Addressing the Intersection of Military, Climate, and Justice

We are honored to announce that IPB has been featured in the World Peace Foundation’s esteemed Movement Index. This recognition comes alongside the publication of their critical report, written by Nico Edwards, examining the complex interplay between military actions, climate change, and social justice.

The report, released in conjunction with the ongoing discussions at COP28, delves into the emerging concept of ‘Green Militarism.’ This term refers to the ways in which environmental challenges are increasingly becoming entangled with military responses, raising important questions about the future of eco-social policies and practices.

With the title “Resisting the Militarization of Eco-Social Crises,” the report is a compelling call to action. It invites us to reconsider our approaches to environmental challenges and to advocate for solutions that are not only effective but also just and equitable.

How You Can Help Amplify This Message:

  1. Retweet the Foundation’s Report: Show your support by retweeting the report from the World Peace Foundation’s Twitter account. Retweet Here
  2. Share the Report on Social Media: Use your platform to spread the word. You can use the suggested copy or create your own to highlight the importance of resisting green militarism. Read and Share the Report
  3. Use the Hashtag #RESISTgreenmilitarism: Including this hashtag in your posts will help in creating a unified voice and will enable the World Peace Foundation to easily retweet and share your support.

We are proud to be part of this critical conversation and are grateful for the World Peace Foundation’s efforts in shedding light on these pressing issues!

The military elephant in the room will lead to an unjust transition

Post-review of NATO Climate Killer Part 2: Climate Crossfire Webinar, recorded on December 2nd, 2023, during COP 28

Author: Pippa Bartolotti

As we navigate COP 28, this webinar addressed the pertinent issues of military spending and its environmental ramifications.

Ably introduced by the Canadian policy analyst IPB Vice President Steven Staples, this important webinar discussed in detail the links between the military and environmental degradation. Taking place on Day 4 of the COP 28 summit in Dubai, it was a thorough reality check.

The first speaker was Nick Buxton, Transnational Institute, who had some superb graphics and data to support his call to shrink the military, boost renewables and fund poorer nations in their efforts to combat the climate change they did not cause.

He explained that, in view of global emissions significantly exceeding the pledges to stay within 1.5 degrees of warming, (Paris Agreement 2015) we now only have a tiny window in which to take radical action. Shrinking the military was now critical is we are to deliver climate justice.

The gap between policy and action has increased. Those countries promising to make adjustments by 2050 were basically not planning to make any changes at all. In other words, 2050 pledges are the ‘do nothing’ option.

Nick pointed out that holding this COP in a petro-state such as the UAE was rather like asking the head of a tobacco company to launch an anti-smoking campaign – ludicrous. His research showed clearly that those countries with the highest military spending created the most emissions, and that fossil fuel expansion had been the real aim since the end of WW1 when the Ottoman Empire was carved up to reflect the places where oil pipelines were going. The US backed Israeli onslaught on Gaza in order to claim the gasfields off that coast are an ongoing example of this policy.

The global military spend in 2022 was $2.24 trillion. In 2028 it is expected to be $11.8 trillion. The richest countries spend 30 times more on their military than on supporting a survivable climate.

In 2015 £100 billion was promised to help poorer countries. Only half of that has been delivered to date, and that came late.

Russia spends $158b on the military, China $578b, NATO spends $2,327b – that is 55% of global military spending. Of the 2% of GDP spending goal expected from NATO countries, 20% is targeted to be spent on military equipment, thus enriching the military industrial complex.

Nick showed us a map pinpointing the 750+ US military bases across the world, most of which correlate closely with the infrastructure of resource extraction.

Every country now has Climate Security Plans. The trend is to see climate change as a security issue where the victims are seen as threats, where borders become militarised, where exploitation of the vulnerable is increased, and where any form of peaceful response is denied. Spending on borders alone is now twice the spend on climate finance. NATO is now in place to deal with the consequences of the unstable conditions they themselves have created.

The second speaker was Wendela de Vries of Stop Wapenhandle, has been looking at the lack of transparency and accountability of the military across the globe.

She spoke of hardliners evading the subject of emissions, of the NATO Arctic Command established in order to protect deep sea mining in the Arctic. Of how current discussion is fuelling a new cold war and how closely correlated military spending was to a rise in emissions.

Most military spending is now in equipment not personnel. There is not expected to be a rise in numbers of personnel. But expenditure on ships, tanks and weapons would increase.

The military carbon footprint as of 2021 was bigger than the worlds footprint from civil aviation.

Th US emissions are more than all other NATO countries combined. More than 70% of all military emissions come from the US. 50% is from the military and more than 20% is on weapons manufacture.

Future member contributions to NATO are scheduled to rise to 3% of GDP. This is important for the arms industry who want to consolidate long term contracts, but labor and environmental rights are being damaged in the upscaling of weapons production – largely being driven by the Ukraine war.

Wendela spoke of the greenwashing of military products, such as the fallacious term ‘sustainable defence’ being used to greenwash biofuels and synthetic fuels, both of which still require burning for energy, and which will not reduce emissions at all. In the case of biofuels, enormous amounts of land would be required to grow the feedstock, damaging ecosystems and compromising biodiversity. The military are not going to change their energy systems to electricity as that would make all their ships, tanks etc obsolete. Electric propulsion would require a full redesign, and as military hardware is expected to last 40 years, such a proposal is not entertained.

Nuclear, particularly the plethora of small reactors, will make it much more difficult to control the toxic waste, and is no solution at all.

The arms industry still has huge support, many people still believe that the military make the world a safer place, and that thinking has to change. We have to de-militarize to be more safe.

Some interesting points came out of the question and answer session at the end. There was discussion about health being at the heart of peace, that a peaceful world would enable a healthy and dignified life for all. Others were looking for some way out of our current trajectory of everlasting war where every problem looked like a nail, and needed a hammer to solve it.

There was concern that rich countries did not look after poor countries. On the whole the speakers were not optimistic for the future as we sink into dark circumstances in this crisis of all crises.

The real challenge is to put collaboration before competition, to find a different pathway, and to make war illegal. Hope remains with social movements and in the streets.

Co-organized by four esteemed organizations—the International Peace Bureau, Global Women’s United Against NATO, No to War, No to NATO, and the Asia-Europe People’s Forum—this series of webinars seek to provoke thoughtful dialogue and foster a deeper understanding of the complex interplay between militarism and the environment.

Watch the full Recording in IPB YouTube Page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0axVq1alkkw&t=18s

How to get involved in GDAMS 2023 – War costs us the Earth

Original text at: https://demilitarize.org/

This year of war in Ukraine has meant a huge boost for militarism and military budgets across the world, especially in countries of the Global North. But at GCOMS we believe the response should be quite the opposite: we should drastically reduce military spending and invest in common & human security instead… 

The 12th edition of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending will take place from April 13 to May 9, 2023. Join us in protesting military budgets & warmongering, and take action for peace & justice!

These dates include:

  • April 18: Tax Day in the USA
  • April 22: Earth Day
  • April 24: GDAMS press conferences and social media storm on the occasion of SIPRI’s release of new data on military spending
  • May 9: Europe’s Day of Peace · Actions against the militarization of the EU

How can you get involved?

If you’re part of an organization:

  • Prepare your own GDAMS action or join activities prepared by other organizations near you. Once you know the details of your action please send us an email so we can add them to our map & agenda and help you spread the word. You can see examples from last year here.
  • April 24 will be the main day of action once again. Using new military spending data released that day by SIPRI (figures for 2022), we’ll hold press conferences and launch a Social Media Storm. We’ll send instructions for social media actions soon, and if you’re preparing media work in your city/country, we can help you plan it.
  • Stay active during GDAMS by sharing ideas, articles, actions and debates through your own network and social media, with other GCOMS partners, and with us (FacebookTwitter and Instagram).

As an individual:

  • Join a local group working on the issue, or set one up!
    Here’s our list of partners.
  • Do Online Campaigning: join our social media storm on April 24; use your social media to protest military budgets by sharing pictures, news, materials, and actions;
  • Write an op-ed; Send a letter to representatives in your country responsible for defense budgets.

IPB Call to Action – On the First Anniversary of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Let’s Show That There Are Peaceful Alternatives to War

The International Peace Bureau calls on our members worldwide to take action during 24-26 February 2023 in support of peace in Ukraine. The war, which will mark its first anniversary on 24.02.2023, has already cost more than two hundred thousand lives[1] – by conservative estimates – forced millions to flee their homes[2], caused widespread destruction of Ukrainian cities, and strained already fragile supply chains that have made life more difficult for people the world over.

We know that this war is unsustainable – and, worse still, risks escalation that threatens the life and livelihood of people around the world. The nuclear rhetoric of Russia in particular is irresponsible and demonstrates the fragility of this moment. Moreover, the war’s direct and indirect impact on the climate impedes the urgent need for a green transition[3].

There is no easy solution to the war in Ukraine, but the current track we are on is unsustainable. Through global demonstrations for peace, we seek to pressure the two sides to establish a ceasefire and to take steps toward negotiations for long-term peace.

Our calls for peace are not limited to Ukraine – for all conflicts in the world, we implore governments to refuse the logic of confrontation and war, to oppose the nuclear peril, and to commit themselves to disarmament by signing the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. We demand that governments and states act in favor of diplomacy, negotiation, conflict prevention, and the establishment of common security systems[4].

We call for your support and your voices for peace. Please consider joining an existing event during this weekend of action, or planning your own. Together we are stronger, and can show the world that there are alternatives to war and militarization. 

Further resources:


[1] https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/nov/10/us-estimates-200000-military-casualties-all-sides-ukraine-war

[2] https://cream-migration.org/ukraine-detail.htm?article=3573#:~:text=The%20UNHCR%20records%207%2C977%2C980%20refugees,for%20temporary%20protection%20in%20Europe

[3] https://www.sgr.org.uk/publications/estimating-military-s-global-greenhouse-gas-emissions

[4] https://commonsecurity.org/


You can download the PDF version of this official statement here:

➡️ Click here to read the appeal in French.

➡️ Interact with us on social media especially to learn about our latest actions and activities: FacebookTwitterInstagram, and Youtube.

➡️ Our office is open to reply to any doubts regarding the documents that were above presented. To get in touch with us, e-mail us at info@ipb-office.berlin.

Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War

Article by Joseph Gerson – 11/01/2023

➡️ Read the original article in commondreams.org

Across the Indo-Pacific, as well as in the escalating Ukraine War, humanity stands an accident or miscalculation away from the calamity of nuclear war.

Japan in December adopted a set of three security and defense strategy documents that break from its exclusively self-defense-only stance. Under the new strategies, Japan vows to build up its counterstrike capability with long-range cruise missiles that can reach potential targets in China, double its defense budget within five years, and bolster development of advanced weapons.” —Asahi Shimbun

“U.S. officials have welcomed Japan’s willingness to take on more offensive role, while experts say it could also help widen cooperation with Australia, their main regional defense partner.” —Asahi Shimbun

Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida comes to Washington on Friday, January 13. Unlike Japan, his summit with President Joe Biden will not garner much press attention here in the United States, but it marks a signal moment in Japan’s rise in military power and in the implementation of the Biden Administration’s National Security Strategy. The Strategy, which prioritizes Chinese and Russian challenges to the so-called “rules-based order”, a euphemism for U.S. primacy which is rife with contradictions, prioritizes the centrality of alliances to U.S. global power, stating that “our alliances and partnerships around the world are our most important strategic asset.”

The revitalized 70-year-old U.S.-Japan alliance has renewed importance in enforcing U.S. defense of Taiwan and resisting the expansion of Chinese influence across the South China/West Philippine Sea. This Sea is the geopolitically critical expanse of ocean across which 40% of world trade—including Middle East oil which fuels East Asian economies—flows. Similarly, further integration of the Japanese and U.S. economies and technological resources are encompassed by the alliance and seen as essential to the power and wealth of both nations.

Prime Minister Kishida has stated that the summit will be a “very important” opportunity to “demonstrate at home and abroad the further strengthening of the Japan-U.S. alliance.” The alliance is not a new development. In 1952 the Mutual Security Treaty (AMPO in Japanese) was secretly imposed on Japan as a condition for ending the postwar military occupation. Since then, contrary to Japan’s “peace constitution,” the island nation has served as the center of the United States’ hub and spokes Asia-Pacific alliance structure. It reinforced the Cold War containment doctrine in Asia, and in the 21st century it plays a critical role in containing and managing China’s rise and its challenge to U.S. regional hegemony.

➡️ Read the original article in commondreams.org


Continue reading “Militarized Japan and the Biden-Kishida Summit Signal Moment in the New Cold War”

Open Letter Launch on military spending and climate finance

In a collaboration between the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) , World BEYOND War (WBW), and the International Peace Bureau (IPB), we come to present you two Open Letters written especifically for the occasion of the COP27 happening in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egipt from the 6th to the 18th of November.

The first letter is addressed as an Appeal to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Chang (UNFCCC) to Study Climate Impacts of Military Emissions and Military Spending for Climate Financing. The second one, as a Global Appeal to Reduce Military Spending and Re-Allocate to Climate Financing, is addressed to Yannick Glemarec, Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund.

“It is inconceivable that while millions of people are waiting for vaccines, medicines or food to save their lives, the richest countries continue to prioritize their resources in armaments at the expense of people’s well-being, climate, health and equitable recovery.”

We appeal to the UNFCCC and the IPCC to do a special report and assessment of the climate impacts of war and the military. Global military spending has risen to over $2.1 trillion USD. We urge the UNFCCC to call on member states to cut military spending for climate financing.

In 2021, global military spending rose to $2.1 trillion (USD), the highest ever in history. This is 20 times more than the $100 billion pledged for climate finance, a target that Western countries failed to meet. 

The military is the largest consumer of fossil fuels and biggest carbon emitter in the governments of state parties. Countries must demilitarize to decarbonize.

Military emissions and expenditures are derailing progress on the Paris Agreement. Peace, disarmament and demilitarisation are vital to mitigation, transformational adaptation, and climate justice. We also appeal to the Green Climate Fund to study the reduction and re-allocation of military spending for climate financing facilities.

IPB Statement: Call to the G20 to Invest in Healthcare Instead of Militarization (EN/FR/DE/ES/SV/FI/CA/JP/KO)

IPB is calling for a dramatic reduction of military spending in favour of healthcare and meeting social needs

The world’s oldest peace NGO, the Nobel Prize-winning IPB has called on G20 world leaders who are gathering via virtual means this coming week to send a message of peace and solidarity to the world as they address the global health emergency. Continue reading “IPB Statement: Call to the G20 to Invest in Healthcare Instead of Militarization (EN/FR/DE/ES/SV/FI/CA/JP/KO)”

Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula

Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula and Establishing a Northeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone

(Presentation of Dr. J. Enkhsaikhan, Chairman of Blue Banner NGO at the 6th Forum of Northeast Asian Peace and Development, held on 24 November 2019 in Shanghai)

Continue reading “Denuclearizing of the Korean Peninsula”

IPB’s Berlin Congress: A Huge Success!

Berlin CongressThere was a general consensus in the Berlin Congress organised by IPB (Disarm! for a Climate of Peace: Creating an Action Agenda) that the gathering was a tremendous success. Over 1000 participants from 75 countries participated in a wide range of sessions: plenaries, panels and workshops, as well as side events and cultural presentations. Speeches by experts, activists, politicians, scholars and others provided both inspiration and understanding at a high level.

The event provided a new impetus to the disarmament and wider peace movements at a critical time. IPB also presented its own Action Agenda for the coming years at the final plenary (see separate news item). Continue reading “IPB’s Berlin Congress: A Huge Success!”