How The U.S. Military Undermines Our Climate Commitments

“Roughly speaking, military emissions are likely to grow as military budgets grow…”

By Dharna Noor, The Boston Globe

Senate Democrats are scrambling to find a path forward for the biggest climate spending package in US history after Senator Manchin pulled his support last weekend. But last week, the Senate passed another piece of legislation that could quietly have massive implications for the climate: the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which funds and sets the budget for the military. 

The measure, which was approved by the House earlier this month, authorizes $768.2 billion in defense spending, which is $25 billion more than requested by President Biden in his fiscal 2022 budget. It will now go to Biden’s desk for final approval, where it is expected to pass, increasing the defense budget by 5% from last year.

The US Department of Defense is the largest institutional greenhouse gas polluter in the world. Thanks to its bases and vast fleets of aircraft carriers, jets, drones, and trucks, it is also the largest consumer of fossil fuels in the federal government, using more oil and gas than the entire countries of Sweden and Denmark, according to a landmark 2019 study.