War's climate toll: Gaza conflict's heavy environmental impact

The Gaza war's emissions in just two months surpassed the yearly carbon output of a score of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations, a groundbreaking study indicates.

Nina Lakhani reports for The Guardian.

In short:

• The conflict produced 281,000 metric tons of CO2, mainly from Israel's military actions, equivalent to burning 150,000 tons of coal.
• U.S. cargo planes delivering military supplies to Israel contributed nearly half of these emissions.
• Rebuilding Gaza's damaged infrastructure will further exacerbate the climate crisis, with emissions comparable to New Zealand's annual output.

Key quote:

“This study is only a snapshot of the larger military boot print of war … a partial picture of the massive carbon emissions and wider toxic pollutants that will remain long after the fighting is over.”

— Benjamin Neimark, Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London.

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