While the US military appears to take climate change seriously, it is a major polluter. Neta C. Crawford’s book explores the Pentagon’s bad habits

Environment 26 October 2022

After the second world war, petroleum overtook coal in powering US Navy ships

Stocktrek Images, Inc./Alamy

The Pentagon, Climate Change, and War

Neta C. Crawford (MIT Press)

IN JUNE, the secretary-general of NATO announced that the military alliance would reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050. As the website Energy Monitor reported, observers objected to important details being left vague, such as which countries it covered.

Since the first international climate summit, military emissions have been largely exempt from reporting and reduction targets. It is time this changed, says Neta Crawford, …