US military could slash a whole country's emissions, finds study

The world's largest fighting force is also one of its biggest emitters

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A new study has revealed the astronomical scale of the US military’s carbon footprint and how relatively modest budget cuts could significantly reduce it.

Published in the journal PLOS Climate, the research found that US Department of Defense (DoD) spending is tightly linked to energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Reducing military expenditure, the authors argue, could yield dramatic benefits for the planet.

The US military is the largest emitter of greenhouse gases of any institution on Earth, generating an estimated 636 million metric tonnes of CO₂ equivalent (a standardised measure of greenhouse gas emissions) between 2010 and 2019.

If the US military were a country, it would rank 47th globally in emissions — ahead of nations like Sweden and Portugal.

And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. These figures only include what’s known as Scope 1 and 2 emissions — the direct emissions from fuel combustion and purchased electricity. They exclude indirect (Scope 3) emissions from employee travel, waste disposal and the supply chain, meaning the true carbon footprint is likely much higher.