According to new research by scientists from Durham University and Lancaster University, the United States military is one of the largest climate polluters. The U.S. military consumes more liquid fuels and emits more greenhouse gases than most countries.
The study, published in Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, finds that if the U.S. military were a country, it would be the 47th largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, falling between Peru and Portugal. And this only takes into account the emissions from its liquid fuel consumption. For this study, the U.S. military’s 2015 consumption was compared with the 2014 World Bank country liquid fuel consumption.
In 2017, the U.S. military purchased more than 269,000 barrels of oil a day, emitting more than 25,000 kt- CO2e by burning those fuels. The Air Force accounted for $4.9 billion worth of this fuel, followed by the Navy at $2.8 billion, the Army at $947 million, and the Marines at $36 million.
The Air Force and the Navy are not only the U.S. military’s largest purchasers of fuel, they also use the most polluting types of fuel. The Air Force is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases at more than 13,000 kt CO2e, nearly double that of the Navy’s 7,800 kt CO2e.
Despite this study’s findings and a general uptick in awareness, it’s unlikely that the U.S. military’s dependence on fossil fuels will change. That’s because the military continues to pursue open-ended operations around the globe, and the lifecycle of its existing military equipment insures dependence on hydrocarbons for many years to come.
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U.S. military consumes more hydrocarbons than most countries — massive hidden impact on climate
Photo, posted July 8, 2016, courtesy of Alan Wilson via Flickr.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
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