What's the climate cost of war?

From The Climate Question by BBC World Service

March 8, 2026 · 24 min

About this episode

The episode explores the climate cost of war, discussing the carbon footprint of military actions and the impact of maintaining armed forces during peacetime.

War leaves a visible trail of destruction: lives and families devastated, homes and communities reduced to rubble. But there is also a climate cost of armed conflict, and it’s an issue that Climate Question listeners have been asking about. So in this show, Host Graihagh Jackson chats to two leading experts about the carbon footprint of battle itself - the jets, the bombs, the supply lines - and the impact of maintaining armies and bases during peacetime. They discuss Gaza and Ukraine, as well as the current US-Israel war with Iran. Graihagh also finds out if there any ways for the military to reduce their emissions and whether they see climate change as a strategic threat. GUESTS: Neta Crawford, Professor of International Relations, University of St Andrews. Dr. Benjamin Neimark, Associate Professor at Queen Mary, University of London Got a question or comment? email us at theclimatequestion@bbc.com Producers: Diane Richardson, Grace Braddock Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell and Philip Bull Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown Editor: Simon Watts

People in this episode

Host: Graihagh Jackson

Guests: Neta Crawford, Dr. Benjamin Neimark

Topics covered

climate cost of war
carbon footprint
military emissions
armed conflict
climate change
strategic threat

Keywords

climate change
war
carbon footprint
military
emissions
Gaza
Ukraine
Iran

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of St Andrews, Queen Mary, University of London

Places: Gaza, Ukraine, US-Israel, Iran