Peace

When the Warsaw Pact was wound up in 1991, there were hopes that NATO would be dissolved too and international relations would be founded on a new basis, putting the principles of the UN Charter into force. After decades of tension, there was great hope for a more just and peaceful world, built on political agreement, and not on military alliances. It was also hoped there would be a peace dividend, with vast sums going from the military into social spending.

This did not happen. Instead, the US devised a new strategy – the Wolfowitz Doctrine of 1992. This stated that the US was the world’s only remaining superpower and proclaimed its main objective was to retain that status. That approach has determined US actions ever since – and NATO, which was now redundant in terms of its initial mission statement as a Cold War alliance, was repurposed to support the US in that objective, expanding its remit and its territory. Europe has been caught up in that process ever since. But that US goal ignores how the world has changed: that we now live in a multi-polar world, and trying to force it to remain uni-polar will just lead to more wars. We should not be the US’s ally in that goal any longer – to remain so makes Europe a likely battleground.

The war in Ukraine makes that very clear – there is an increasing risk of nuclear war in Europe. The peoples of Europe feared a nuclear war between the US and what was then the Soviet Union, in the 1980s. There was massive popular protest and most nuclear weapons were removed from Europe. Now they are coming back. The US is bringing new upgraded nuclear weapons to several countries in Europe, and Russia is bringing them to Belarus, claiming that if it is OK for the US to do that, then it is OK for Russia. These weapons put us all on the front line and we must get rid of them once again. The same goes for foreign troops present in Europe – there are over 63,000 US troops stationed here, over half of those in Germany, having been there for many decades.

21st-century security – environment and peace

War is a big polluter and the war in Ukraine is no exception – military emissions are sky-high. According to calculations by the Dutch climate researcher Lennard de Klerk, the war in Ukraine caused 120 million tonnes of CO2 emissions in its first year, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of a country the size of Belgium.

The UN Environment Programme has pointed to a toxic legacy for generations to come, with thousands of possible incidents of air, water and land pollution and the degradation of ecosystems, including risks to neighbouring countries. In addition, there are serious and lasting consequences from some of the weaponry in use. Depleted Uranium munitions, supplied by the US and UK are known to bring cancers, birth defects, and other lasting health impacts to local populations. The impact on agricultural land affects food supplies far beyond the war zone, impacting on many peoples.

But the impact of military emissions on Europe is not confined to times of war – even in normal times armed forces are among the biggest polluters on the planet. Yet they manage to avoid scrutiny. Because of a let-out in the Paris climate agreement, governments do not have to provide full data on greenhouse gases being emitted by armed forces. The total of the world’s militaries, together with the industries that manufacture their equipment, is estimated to be responsible for around 6% of all global emissions, and Europe plays a part in that – its military sectors have an annual carbon footprint equivalent to emissions from at least 14 million cars.

NATO organises regular massive exercises over and across Europe which contribute to this footprint, as well as contributing to military and political tensions. The recent Air Defender 23 is the largest deployment exercise of air forces in NATO’s history. It involved 10,000 participants from 25 countries with 250 aircraft – 100 from the US – undertaking training operations in European airspace under the command of the German Air Force.

The CO2 emissions of this large-scale manoeuvre amount to 220,000 tonnes, which is equivalent to the annual emissions of a city of 30,000 inhabitants.

At a time when the world faces catastrophic climate change, war and military activities not only contribute to the problem, they also divert resources from solving the problem. And they make it more difficult for a global solution to be found when major States that need to work together to resolve so many challenges are in a state of conflict.

Now more than ever we need to adopt a broad concept of security, which addresses the two existential threats that we face – climate change and nuclear war. And we need policies and actions that will reduce and eventually remove those threats. Our concept of security is one of genuine human security, not of killing and increased militarisation, or the further expansion of military blocs, but of human rights, respect for all, dignity and meeting people’s needs. This is our vision for Europe – a continent at peace and for peace.

[1] SIPRI Yearbook 2021 Armaments, Disarmament and International Security, p. 251

[2] ZDF: Klimaforscher berechnen Emissionen Diese Folgen hat der Krieg (7.6.2023) https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/panorama/klima-fussabdruck-ukraine-krieg-russland-100.html