As the Israel-Palestine conflict has recently re-escalated, it is clearer than ever before how war and sustainability are intertwined. Only the two months of military operations in Gaza following October 7th, without accounting for any previous events in the last 75 years of this conflict, have shown enormous levels of carbon footprint that exceed the yearly emissions of over 20 climate-vulnerable countries. This startling discovery highlights the frequently overlooked effects of the conflict on climate change and the necessity of holding nations with significant military emissions accountable.
A staggering 281,000 metric tons of CO2 were released, with most of the emissions reportedly coming from ground invasions and aircraft bombardments. This kind of emission damages the ecosystem irreversibly, yet no army or government is held accountable for the massive harm caused by these kinds of military operations. The environmental impact goes beyond CO2 emissions since the Israeli embargo and repeated bombardments exacerbated concerns such as water scarcity, pollution, and agricultural devastation. Another terrible reality of the warfare is that the repair of Gaza’s destroyed structures is predicted to produce at least 30 million metric tons of CO2 (equal to New Zealand’s annual emissions). This scenario demonstrates how environmental degradation caused by war is cyclical, with rebuilding efforts itself playing a major role in contributing to climate change. As the entire world works to reduce the effects of climate change and improve standards in all fields, it is perplexing to see how we fail to consider the environmental ramifications of military activities and war.
In today’s free market, businesses can be held responsible for not adhering to ethical principles in their business practices or workplace cultures. This begs the issue of why nations, like Israel, are not subject to the same standards of evaluation and accountability for their actions. Continuing to evaluate this issue in the context of business ethics, the consequentialist ethical theory holds that the morality of an activity is determined by the consequences it causes; for example, favoring profit over consumer well-being is immoral. Utilitarianism, a type of consequentialism, emphasizes that the correct behavior in each scenario is the one that maximizes well-being over harm. As a result, the perplexing reality of approving and carrying out extraordinarily damaging military actions without being held accountable grows. This ongoing conflict demonstrates an important lesson: in addition to the tragic human casualties and damage to infrastructure and land, war has far-reaching environmental consequences.
References
“Israel’s Blockade of Gaza Creates an Environmental Crisis.” The New Arab, The New Arab, 24 Oct. 2023, www.newarab.com/features/israels-blockade-gaza-creates-environmental-crisis.
Lakhani, Nina. “Emissions from Israel’s War in Gaza Have ‘Immense’ Effect on Climate Catastrophe.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 9 Jan. 2024, www.theguardian.com/world/2024/jan/09/emissions-gaza-israel-hamas-war-climate-change.