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illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on The Guardian or enjoy below:
🗞️ Driving the news: A new study reveals that the emissions from the first two months of the war in Gaza surpassed the annual carbon footprint of over 20 climate-vulnerable nations
• The majority of these emissions came from Israel’s military incursion of Gaza, including aerial bombardments and ground invasions
🔭 The context: This study, still awaiting peer review, highlights the significant climate impact of military activities, a factor often excluded from mainstream environmental discussions
• It emphasizes the asymmetry of war machinery between Israel and Hamas, with Israel's military actions contributing to over 99% of the total emissions of the conflict
• Israel's indiscriminate bombardment of Gaza has murdered nearly 23,000 Palestinians, predominantly civilian women and children, and led to the forced displacement of about 85% of Gaza's population, creating critical shortages of food and water
🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The conflict's environmental impact extends beyond immediate carbon emissions
• The rebuilding of Gaza's infrastructure, damaged during the conflict, will further contribute to global warming, akin to a country's annual emissions
⏭️ What's next: The research underscores the need for greater accountability in military greenhouse gas emissions, which account for over 5.5% of global greenhouse emissions, but are frequently undisclosed
• The study calls for an end to the military's "environmental exceptionalism" and highlights the necessity of including military emissions in global climate action discussions
💬 One quote: "The military’s environmental exceptionalism allows them to pollute with impunity, as if the carbon emissions spitting from their tanks and fighter jets don’t count. This has to stop, to tackle the climate crisis we need accountability" (Benjamin Neimark, co-author of the study)
📈 One stat: The conflict generated an estimated 281,000 metric tonnes of CO2 in just 60 days, a figure that likely underestimates the full impact.
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