Wars, Conflicts, And Climate Change. A Huge Cost To Be Paid By Humanity Ultimately As Climate Change Is Surely “Not A Priority”!

Here’s the harsh reality—climate change is not on the priority list. While the world is busy with wars, conflicts, and acts of terror, the planet is footing an ever-growing bill.

Experts estimate that climate change damage will cost between $1.7 trillion and $3.1 trillion per year by 2050. That’s not just numbers on paper—it’s the price tag for wrecked infrastructure, ruined crops, lost lives, and strained healthcare systems. And guess who bears the brunt? The poorest countries, the ones least equipped to deal with the fallout.

Want some jaw-dropping stats?

Over the past two decades, extreme weather events like hurricanes, floods, and heat waves have cost the world a staggering $2.8 trillion. That’s $143 billion a year or $16.3 million an hour—every single hour.

And yet, we shrug it off like it’s someone else’s problem.

Take the recent oil spill in Russia’s Krasnodar region as an example. Two aging tankers fell victim to a storm, spilling over 9,000 tons of oil into the Black Sea. One split in half, the other ran aground.

Sandy beaches turned into tar pits, seabirds and marine life devastated, and 10,000 people scrambling to clean up the mess.
The local governor declared a region-wide emergency, acknowledging that oil slicks are still washing up on the coastline days later.

Meanwhile, volunteers are appealing directly to President Putin for help, trying to tackle the havoc spread across 35 miles of coastline.
And here’s the kicker—this disaster wasn’t even caused by war or conflict, just sheer negligence and outdated systems. Yet the environmental toll is undeniable.

When Battlefields Leave Scars on the Planet

Wars have always been part of human history, but their impact goes way beyond borders, treaties, and political agendas.

Long before the first shot is fired, the environment starts paying the price. Military forces demand massive amounts of natural resources for their upkeep, and when the conflict begins, ecosystems face utter devastation. Think deforestation, polluted soil and water, crop destruction, invasive species, and entire species wiped out.

And here’s the harsh truth: wars don’t just end when peace agreements are signed. The damage lingers for decades, leaving war-torn regions struggling to recover. People are left fighting for survival in environments stripped of the resources they depend on.

Military Emissions Is The Carbon Cost of Conflict

Let’s talk numbers.

The US Department of Defense is the world’s largest institutional consumer of oil—and yes, that makes them one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters too. All those tanks, jets, ships, and military bases burn through oil like there’s no tomorrow, spewing carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere.

In 2017 alone, the US Air Force spent a whopping $4.9 billion on fuel, and the US military as a whole was responsible for 59 million tons of CO2 emissions—on par with industrialized countries like Switzerland or Sweden.

The Iraq War, it’s said to have generated 141 million tons of CO2 in just four years, the equivalent of putting 25 million extra cars on the road for an entire year.

The UK isn’t off the hook either—military activities there account for nearly half of the country’s total emissions.

A Global Crisis, Acknowledged but Unchecked

Military leaders know the climate crisis is real. At the White House climate summit in 2021, retired US Army General Lloyd J. Austin III called it “a profoundly destabilizing force for our world.”

The message was clear, climate change fuels more conflict and suffering, creating a vicious cycle that’s hard to break.

Here’s more to think about –

• US military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, and Syria have dumped a staggering 440 million tons of carbon into the atmosphere, with 250 million tons coming from the Iraq invasion alone.

• The first seven months of the Russia-Ukraine war? At least 100 million tons of carbon emissions.

• Israel’s Gaza war (Oct 2023–Feb 2024) added 420,000 to 652,000 tons of CO2 emissions in just 120 days—that’s more than the annual emissions of 26 countries combined.

Most of this comes from flights, tanks, and bombing operations. The very tools of war are turning into tools of planetary destruction.

Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon nailed it when he said, “The environment has long been a silent casualty of war and armed conflict.”

Wars leave behind more than broken nations—they leave scarred lands, devastated ecosystems, and environmental damage that can last for generations.

How War Wages on the Environment

The extent of environmental destruction during a war depends on factors like the conflict’s duration, the weapons used, and the areas affected. Unfortunately, the environment often bears the brunt, whether it’s large-scale deforestation, soil contamination, or wildlife extinction.

Take the Vietnam War (1955–1975), for instance.

Dense rainforests provided the perfect cover for Vietnamese soldiers, and the U.S. military responded by waging war on nature itself. Between 1961 and 1971, 73 million liters of chemical defoliants were sprayed to destroy forests and crops. The goal? To flush out enemies and cut off their food supply.

The results were catastrophic –

—Nearly 50% of Vietnam’s mangroves—essential for carbon storage and coastal protection—were destroyed.

—Critical habitats for species like tigers, elephants, and leopards were wiped out.

—The soil was stripped of nutrients, leading to widespread erosion.

—The ripple effects on ecosystems, wildlife, and local communities are still being felt today.

Not Just Big Wars, Small Conflicts Leave Big Scars

It’s not just large-scale wars that wreak havoc on the environment. Even smaller conflicts can leave a trail of destruction.

During the Rwandan Civil War (1990–1994), nearly 750,000 refugees settled near Virunga National Park. To survive, they relied heavily on the forest for shelter and firewood, cutting down nearly 1,000 tons of wood daily for two years. The aftermath?

• 105 square kilometers of forest were destroyed, with another 35 square kilometers stripped bare.

• Virunga, once home to the world’s largest hippo population (30,000 in 1974), saw numbers plummet to just about 1,000 due to poaching and habitat loss.

• Forests teeming with biodiversity—190 species of trees, 275 bird species, and 12 primate species—were decimated.

The Economic Costs of Climate Change IS Comparable to Fighting a Permanent War

Climate change isn’t just a looming environmental crisis; it’s an economic catastrophe of wartime proportions. Research now suggests that the financial toll of global heating is six times worse than previously thought, with economic losses rivaling those of an ongoing, permanent war.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

A mere 1-degree Celsius increase in global temperatures translates to a staggering 12% decline in global GDP, far outpacing earlier estimates. To put this in perspective, the world has already warmed by more than 1 degree since pre-industrial times, and climate scientists warn we’re on track for a 3-degree rise by 2100.

This escalation will cause:

—Over 50% decline in global output, capital, and consumption by century’s end.

—A crippling loss in purchasing power, with global wealth already 37% lower than it would have been without the past 50 years of warming.

This economic drain, as one study aptly notes, is “comparable to the economic damage caused by fighting a war domestically and permanently.”

Climate Change Is A Uniformly Destructive Force

The economic impact of climate change doesn’t discriminate much between countries—it’s surprisingly uniform worldwide. However, poorer nations are hit harder because they start with less wealth, making recovery even more challenging.

Wealthier nations like the United States, often viewed as better equipped to handle such challenges, should take note: acting on climate change is not just altruism but a critical economic necessity.

$38 Trillion Annually by Mid-Century

Research published in Nature paints an even grimmer picture. By 2050, the cost of rising temperatures, extreme weather, and environmental destruction is projected to reach $38 trillion annually. That’s equivalent to wiping out the GDP of the U.S. and China combined.

A study of 185 extreme weather events from 2000 to 2019 reveals that:

—60,951 human deaths were linked to climate change.

—$260.8 billion in damages, or 53% of total costs, were directly tied to human-caused climate change.

—-Hurricanes accounted for the majority of these costs, with heatwaves, flooding, drought, and wildfires contributing significantly.

—–Overall, these events racked up $2.86 trillion in damages, averaging $143 billion annually. The costliest year, 2008, saw $620 billion in damages.

The Last Bit

Wars may reshape nations, but they’re also reshaping the planet—and not in a good way.

The environmental costs of war are staggering, and they’re piling up while the world’s attention is elsewhere. Maybe it’s time we asked ourselves – is this the legacy we want to leave behind? Or is it finally time to rethink what “winning” really means?

So, while we’re caught up in power plays and political agendas, the planet is paying the ultimate price. Maybe it’s time we started paying attention. Or is that asking too much?