We’re all used to seeing poppies begin appearing on clothes, social media, cars and
newsreaders in the run-up to Remembrance Day. Originally used to commemorate
British Empire and US soldiers in WWI, the flowers are now widespread across
Commonwealth countries and some others, memorialising various conflicts throughout
history into the modern day.
While remembrance poppies are usually red, the wearing of a white poppy has become
increasingly common, either alongside or instead of their red counterparts. White
poppies aim to memorialise all casualties of war including civilians, while standing for
peace and against the glamorisation of war and violence.
This is not a new concept – white poppies first appeared in 1933, but have become more
recognised in recent years after campaigns by British Army veterans, who argue the red
poppy has been used excessively to marshal support for British military interventions
and jingoism rather than a ‘Never Again’ message. The Royal British Legion has stated it
has no objection to the white poppy.
The overhang outside ZERO is often used by the Legion to sell red poppies in October
and early November, and will be again this year. White poppies provided by the Peace
Pledge Union will also be available inside ZERO.
What’s war got to do with ZERO?
War and climate change aren’t often seen as being connected – but they are, and the
relationship goes both ways.
Many aspects of climate change make wars more likely and more deadly. Dwindling
access to resources like water or minerals, refugees forced to flee areas made
uninhabitable, scrambles for power as governments fail to address the crisis, and other
climate-related factors have been implicated in recent wars and will certainly make
future wars more likely and more deadly. But wars (and global militaries in general) are
also a massive source of carbon emissions and other environmental destruction
themselves.
The impacts of climate change on war
The concept of a ‘resource war’, with parties fighting over control of resources such as
water, is not a new one. In fact, it has been one of the main causes of war over
humanity’s history, regardless of the actual scarcity of these resources. Wars over
control of water have been recorded at least as early as 2400BCE, while imperial
expansion has in part been driven by the dual economic demands of exploiting more
raw materials and creating new markets in which to offload the end products.
In theory, countries in our globalised economy no longer use military force to secure
resources – but in practice this never stopped, from control of oil to access to bananas,
metal ores and other raw materials. As a global economic system geared towards
endless growth increasingly comes into conflict with planetary resource limits, open
conflict over resources is likely to worsen.
Various UN officials and environmental analysts have warned that water wars will
become more likely than oil wars in the Middle East in the future, for example – the
region already suffers from acute water shortages, hosting 5% of the world’s population
but just 1% of its freshwater. Droughts and vanishing groundwater in Syria, Iraq and
Turkey have already made existing conflicts worse, and some analysts believe
freshwater scarcity was a key factor in the ongoing Syrian Civil War which began in 2011.
Multiple countries already experience lethal wet-bulb temperatures (when heat and
humidity are so high that humans cannot survive), and entire areas may become
uninhabitable in the near future, with billions forced to flee to less-affected zones – the
UN estimates 700m people may be displaced by 2030 due to drought alone. These and
other impacts of climate change – both direct and indirect – make conflict and outright
war increasingly likely if governments continue to avoid serious climate action, including
adaptation measures for impacts that are now already ‘locked in’.
The impacts of war on climate change
We tend to think of the damage of war as being mainly to people and human
infrastructure – but the implications for climate and environment are also enormous.
Just maintaining and training a military, even one not engaged in conflict, is a huge
source of emissions and environmental impacts such as wildlife and habitat destruction,
or the poisoning of air, water and soil.
Military emissions are almost always left off of nations’ carbon accounting, partly due to
the desire for state secrecy and partly because including them would wreck claims of
emissions reductions. The US military alone generates an estimated 6% of total global
emissions even when not technically ‘at war’, more than entire nations like Portugal or
Denmark, for example – and this is almost certainly a significant underestimate.
Unsurprisingly, ‘at war’ emissions are higher still. In just the first 120 days of the ongoing
war in Gaza, the direct carbon emissions of the Israeli military are estimated to have
exceeded the annual emissions of 26 countries combined (the majority from fuel used
by rockets, jets and other military vehicles). Including the carbon cost of rebuilding Gaza
pushes this figure higher than the annual emissions of over 135 countries. By March 2024,
half of all tree cover and farmland in Gaza had been destroyed, and there was an
average of over 300kg of rubble per square metre of the entire territory, laced with toxic
pollutants and unexploded bombs.
These massive direct impacts also have knock-on indirect effects. Industries and
companies which profit most from war – such as fossil fuels and mining, weapons
manufacturers, technology firms, major infrastructure builders and others – are often
those with large emissions generally. War actively bolsters their financial and therefore
political power, enabling them to more effectively oppose regulation which would help
tackle the climate crisis or promote peace but negatively affect their profit margins.
What can we do?
Preventing or ending wars and military conflict does not just have a positive human
impact, but also a huge positive climate impact. It may seem like there’s not much an individual can do, short of direct action to disrupt the supply chain of weapons manufacturers and other war profiteers – something which is usually illegal and often dangerous.
However, there are a few key steps anyone can take to help:
Divest your money.
Your bank, pensions or other investments may actively support companies and
industries which profit from war (not to mention other climate-wrecking activities). Find
out more about divesting at Friends Of The Earth or switch banks easily at Bank.Green.
Boycott.
Refuse to spend money with businesses which profit from war, exploit
resources/manufacture products in territories under illegal occupation, or otherwise
benefit from conflict.
Vote.
Vote for parties committed to ending war, reversing military build-up, and taking
genuine action on international peace and climate change.
Peacefully protest.
Despite efforts by recent governments to stifle this fundamental human right, peaceful
protests still happen regularly in the UK safely and openly – as they should be in any
functioning democracy. Whether it’s a local action in Guildford or a nationwide event,
protest is a way to let your fellow citizens and representatives know the strength of
feeling on an issue, as well as a vital show of support for those suffering from war and
conflicts worldwide.
Make your voice heard directly.
Let your representatives know what you think outside of elections! You can write to your
MPs or councillors quickly and easily at Write To Them, asking what they’re doing to
help end conflict and tackle the climate crisis.
Spread the word.
Talk to friends, family, and your own communities about these issues and encourage
them to take action too – or find other groups already doing so. A strong support
network can help avoid us slipping into despair when we feel powerless to make
positive changes in the world. If you choose to wear a poppy – red, white or both – this
can be a good starting point for a conversation about peace and the impacts of war we
often overlook.
Learn more
If the issues in this blog have interested you, why not come and borrow one of the related books in the Green Read Share, ZERO's community library.
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