Bringing Militarism and Climate Justice into Focus at the UN Climate Conference in Bonn

Peace Boat participated in the June 2026 UN Climate Change Conference in Bonn, Germany, working with partners to advance discussions on the links between militarism, military spending, military emissions, and the climate crisis. The conference, formally known as the 64th Sessions of the UNFCCC Subsidiary Bodies (SB64), is one of the key annual meetings where governments, United Nations agencies, scientists, and civil society organisations come together to discuss implementation of the Paris Agreement and prepare for future climate negotiations, including COP31 in Türkiye later this year.

SB64 took place against a backdrop of escalating armed conflicts around the world, including the ongoing genocide in Gaza, the humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, the continuing war in Ukraine, military escalation involving Iran, and record levels of global military spending. In 2025, world military expenditure reached a record US$2.88 trillion. For Peace Boat and its partners, these developments reinforced the urgency of addressing militarism not only as a peace issue, but also as a climate justice issue. Military activities contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, drive environmental destruction, divert resources away from climate action, and often have the greatest impacts on communities already facing climate vulnerability and inequality.

Peace Boat's engagement was closely connected to the work of the Women and Gender Constituency (WGC), one of the official civil society constituencies recognised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The WGC brings together women's rights, feminist, environmental, Indigenous, and grassroots organisations from around the world to advocate for gender-responsive and climate-just solutions.

Peace Boat International Coordinator Karen Hallows serves as Co-Lead of the WGC's Peace and Demilitarisation for Climate Justice Working Group. Through this role, and in collaboration with partners across civil society, Peace Boat helped organise events, public actions, media activities, and movement-building initiatives while also helping bring the issues of military spending and military emissions into UN climate discussions. The Peace and Demilitarisation for Climate Justice Working Group focuses on two key demands: closing the military emissions gap by ensuring military greenhouse gas emissions are fully reported and accounted for within climate processes, and redirecting resources from military spending towards climate finance, adaptation, loss and damage, and a just transition.

At SB64, demilitarisation was featured as one of the key demands of the Women and Gender Constituency, reflecting growing recognition that climate justice cannot be achieved while military spending continues to rise and military emissions remain largely outside climate accountability frameworks.

 

Raising Militarism in UN Climate Discussions

One of the highlights of the conference was the inclusion of military spending and military emissions in discussions around the Belém Mission to 1.5. The Belém Mission to 1.5 is a process launched following COP30 to identify practical ways to accelerate climate action and implementation ahead of COP31. During a stakeholder consultation on the Belém Mission to 1.5, Karen Hallows delivered an intervention on behalf of the Women and Gender Constituency highlighting finance and ambition as key enablers for climate action.

The intervention built on earlier contributions by the Women and Gender Constituency during discussions on the UAE Dialogue and Global Stocktake implementation, which highlighted the importance of resource allocation and the contrast between inadequate climate finance and record levels of military spending.

Speaking on behalf of the Constituency, Karen Hallows stated:

“The dilemma is not scarcity, but allocation. While communities struggle to access resources for mitigation, adaptation, and loss and damage, global military expenditure reached a record 2.88 trillion dollars in 2025. This demonstrates that resources exist; the question is where they are directed.”

The intervention also drew attention to the military emissions gap:

“A credible pathway to 1.5°C requires transparency and action across all sectors, including military activities.”

The inclusion of these issues in discussions around the Belém Mission to 1.5 reflects growing efforts by civil society to connect questions of climate ambition, implementation, finance, and accountability with the realities of militarisation and conflict.

Side Event: Peace and Climate Justice – Emissions, Finance and Equity

Peace Boat co-organised a side event bringing together members of the Peace and Demilitarisation for Climate Justice Working Group and partner organisations working at the intersection of peace, climate justice, human rights, and environmental protection. Moderated by Karen Hallows, the event explored militarism through multiple climate justice lenses, connecting military emissions, climate finance, frontline community experiences, displacement, energy systems, and nuclear risks.

Grace Alexander of the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS) examined the military emissions gap and the challenges of transparency and accountability for military greenhouse gas emissions within international climate frameworks. Deborah Burton of Tipping Point North South explored the opportunity costs of record military spending and its implications for climate finance and global equity, drawing on findings from the Double Dividend report.  Mrinal Kanti Tripura of the Maleya Foundation shared perspectives from Indigenous and conflict-affected communities in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of Bangladesh, highlighting displacement, extractive projects, and the denial of free, prior and informed consent. Shirine Jurdi of WILPF Lebanon joined online to discuss the impacts of Israeli military assaults on communities in Lebanon, including displacement, environmental destruction, and the gendered dimensions of climate injustice.  Ana Sánchez of Global Energy Embargo for Palestine explored the links between fossil fuels, militarism, and the energy systems that sustain conflict, while Angelika Claussen of IPPNW Germany addressed the connections between militarism, nuclear weapons, climate risk, and the promotion of nuclear power within climate policy spaces.

The event also featured a clip from Earth's Greatest Enemy, a documentary examining the environmental impacts of militarism, followed by a lively discussion with participants on military emissions, climate finance, transparency, and the role of demilitarisation in achieving climate justice. Throughout the discussion, speakers emphasised that militarism is not only an environmental issue but also a question of equity, human rights, Indigenous rights, gender justice, and the allocation of resources. Together, they highlighted how military spending, armed conflict, fossil fuel dependency, and environmental destruction are interconnected challenges that must be addressed if climate goals are to be achieved.

Women and Gender Constituency Action: Feminists Against Militarism

Peace Boat co-organised a public action with the Women and Gender Constituency under the banner Feminists Against Militarism. The action brought together voices from communities affected by war, occupation, militarisation, and climate breakdown. Speakers shared perspectives from Palestine, the Philippines, and other regions experiencing the impacts of conflict and environmental injustice. Participants highlighted the responsibility of countries in the Global North, noting that many of the wealthiest nations have historically benefited from systems of colonialism, extraction, and militarism while contributing disproportionately to greenhouse gas emissions.

The action called for investment in climate solutions rather than militarisation, emphasising that resources currently devoted to military spending could instead support climate action, adaptation, loss and damage, and community resilience. By bringing together feminist, peace, and climate justice perspectives, the action highlighted the growing movement calling for demilitarisation as a necessary component of climate justice.

Press Conference: Militarized Landscapes – Environmental Destruction and the Gendered Cost of War

Peace Boat hosted a press conference entitled Militarized Landscapes: Environmental Destruction and the Gendered Cost of War. The event brought together speakers from Ukraine, Palestine, Lebanon, and the broader climate justice and human rights movements to examine the environmental consequences of war, militarisation, displacement, occupation, and climate breakdown.

Speakers included Maryna Tsymbaliuk of Ecoaction Ukraine, Rabeb Aloui of the Women and Gender Constituency, Ana Sánchez of Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (GEEP), Flore Ghetti of the SGI Office for UN Affairs, coordinator of the militarism subgroup of the Human Rights and Climate Change Working Group and an alumna of the ICAN Hiroshima Academy, a peace and disarmament programme coordinated by Peace Boat, and Shirine Jurdi of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), who shared a recorded message from Lebanon.  The press conference took place at a time when communities across Palestine, Sudan, Ukraine, Lebanon, and many other parts of the world continue to experience the devastating human and environmental consequences of war and militarisation. Speakers highlighted how conflict damages ecosystems, contaminates land and water, drives displacement, increases emissions, and undermines communities' ability to respond to climate change.

Drawing on experiences from affected communities and human rights advocacy, speakers emphasised that militarism is not only an environmental and climate issue, but also a human rights issue. Particular attention was given to the disproportionate impacts of conflict and environmental destruction on women, Indigenous Peoples, displaced communities, and those already facing social and economic marginalisation.  The press conference provided an important platform for connecting climate justice, human rights, and peace perspectives while underscoring the shared environmental consequences of militarisation.

Screening of Earth's Greatest Enemy

At the Bonn Climate Camp, Peace Boat partnered with Tipping Point North South and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) to organise a screening of Earth's Greatest Enemy, with the generous permission of director Abby Martin.  Earth's Greatest Enemy is a groundbreaking documentary examining the environmental impacts of militarism and the role of the United States military as one of the world's largest institutional polluters.

Combining investigative journalism, powerful visual storytelling, and testimonies from affected communities, the film explores how military activities contribute to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental contamination, and ecological destruction around the world. It also examines why military emissions have largely remained absent from international climate agreements and public debate.  The screening provided climate activists with an opportunity to discuss an issue that remains largely absent from mainstream climate conversations and international climate negotiations.

Building Connections Across Movements

At the Bonn Climate Camp, Peace Boat also co-organised a movement-building and mobilisation event together with Global Energy Embargo for Palestine (GEEP) and organisers of the People's Climate Summit. The discussion brought together activists working on climate justice, anti-militarism, nuclear disarmament, Indigenous rights, environmental defence, and international solidarity. Participants included representatives from the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW), Don't Nuke the Climate, the Mesoamerican Caravan of environmental defenders from Mexico, Global Energy Embargo for Palestine, and organisers of the People's Climate Summit.

The conversation emphasised that the connections between these struggles go beyond solidarity alone. Participants explored how militarism, fossil fuel dependency, extractivism, colonialism, and environmental destruction are rooted in interconnected systems of power that manifest differently across regions and issues. The event helped strengthen collaboration between movements and build momentum towards future initiatives, including the Global Week of Action for Peace and Climate Justice and the People's Climate Summit planned alongside COP31 in Türkiye.

Representatives of the Women and Gender Constituency also met with IPCC Vice-Chair Diana Ürge-Vorsatz for an informal exchange on climate science, emissions reporting, and emerging areas of concern. The discussion highlighted the importance of continued research, transparency, and engagement by civil society on issues that remain underrepresented in climate policy discussions, including military emissions.

Looking Ahead

The discussions at SB64 demonstrated growing interest in addressing militarism within climate spaces and highlighted the need for stronger cooperation between peace movements, climate justice organisations, feminist groups, Indigenous peoples, youth, scientists, and frontline communities. As climate impacts intensify alongside rising military spending and escalating conflicts, Peace Boat will continue to support efforts to close the military emissions gap, advocate for the reallocation of resources from militarisation to climate action, and build connections between movements working towards a more peaceful, just, and sustainable future.