‘Israel’s bombardments bad for Gaza but also bad for climate’

More harmful emissions were produced in the first two months in Gaza than the annual carbon footprint of the countries most negatively affected by global warming, says report

The Guardian revealed that Israel had seriously harmed international efforts to combat climate change in addition to the humanitarian catastrophe it caused during its attacks on Gaza, for which it was charged with genocide upon South Africa’s application at the International Court of Justice.

Reporting on a study conducted by researchers in England and the U.S., the newspaper reported that in the first two months of the Israeli attacks, more harmful emissions were produced than the annual carbon footprint of the countries most negatively affected by global warming.

According to the research included in the newspaper, the majority of the 280 thousand metric tons of carbon dioxide estimated to be produced in the first 60 days following Oct. 7 was caused by Israel’s bombardments and land occupation of Gaza.

While it is stated that Israel’s attacks are equivalent to burning at least 150 thousand tons of coal, the real figure is stated to be higher than the research conducted with various restrictions.

In the research, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, carbon dioxide from the fuels of aircraft, tanks and other vehicles, as well as emissions from the construction and explosion of bombs, artillery systems and rockets were evaluated, while methane gas was excluded from the analysis.

Benjamin Neimark, a lecturer at Queen Mary University in the U.K., said the study is important because it provides the first estimates of the cost of the attacks on Gaza to the climate crisis: “This study is a partial picture of the huge carbon emissions and wider toxic pollutants that will remain long after the war is over.”

On the other hand, the rockets fired by Hamas against Israel in the same period produced approximately 713 tons of carbon dioxide, revealing the asymmetry between the two sides.

Role of U.S. draws attention

Billions of dollars in military aid, weapons and other equipment that the United States provides Israel for use in the occupied Palestinian territories play a large role in reported military carbon emissions in the region.

While at least 200 U.S. cargo planes delivered 10 thousand tons of military equipment to Israel as of December 4, approximately 50 million liters of aviation fuel were used in these flights and an estimated 133 thousand tons of carbon dioxide were emitted into the atmosphere.

While military greenhouse gas emissions are not taken into account in the annual calculations of the United Nations (U.N.) climate action, the authors of the study demand that states be accountable on this issue as well.

Source: Anadolu Agency