<
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/mar/21/middle-east-iran-conflict-environment-climate>
"The US-Israel war on Iran is a disaster for the climate, according to an
analysis that finds it is draining the global carbon budget faster than 84
countries combined.
As warplanes, drones and missiles kill thousands of people, level
infrastructure and turn the Middle East into a gigantic environmental sacrifice
zone, the first analysis of the climate cost has found the conflict led to 5m
tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in its first 14 days.
The analysis, shared exclusively with the
Guardian, adds another layer on to
reporting of the catastrophic environmental harm being caused by attacks on
fossil fuel infrastructure, military bases, civilian areas and ships at sea.
“Every missile strike is another downpayment on a hotter, more unstable planet,
and none of it makes anyone safer,” said Patrick Bigger, a research director at
the Climate and Community Institute and a co-author of the analysis.
“Every refinery fire and tanker strike is a reminder that fossil‑fuelled
geopolitics is incompatible with a livable planet. This war shows, yet again,
that the fastest way to supercharge the climate crisis is to let fossil fuel
interests dictate foreign policy.”
The US-Israeli axis claims to have bombed thousands of targets inside Iran, and
Israel has hit hundreds more targets in Lebanon. Reports from inside both
countries show extensive destruction of infrastructure.
Destroyed buildings constitute the largest element of the estimated carbon
cost. Based on reports by the Iranian Red Crescent humanitarian organisation
that about 20,000 civilian buildings have been damaged by the conflict, the
analysis estimates the total emissions from this sector to be 2.4m tonnes of
CO₂ equivalent (tCO2e)."
Via Susan ****
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
