Sunday 21 st September is the United Nations International Day of Peace.
The week beforehand (15 th -21 st September) has been designated a Week of
Action for Peace and Climate Justice. As the international community
prepares for COP30 in Brazil, the Women’s International League for Peace
and Freedom (WILPF) joins with other groups across the world to press for
divestment in war – investment in a just transition!
In 2024 global military spending rose for the 10 th year in a row reaching a
record high of $2.72 trillion: an increase of 9.4% in real terms from 2023 and
the steepest year-on-year rise since the end of the cold war. NATO states are
responsible for more than half of this spending, totalling $1.51 trillion in 2024 –
while the five biggest spenders globally include the United States, China,
Russia, Germany and India. Military spending is a significant driver of
resource and energy use, and thus of carbon emissions.
2024 was also the hottest year on record, followed by more record
temperatures and unprecedented forest fires, floods and extreme weather
events in 2025. And yet, amid escalating climate change effects and their
disastrous toll on social and economic wellbeing, governments across the
globe are militarising at pace.
Over the course of 2024 and 2025, a majority of NATO and EU states have
committed to historic increases in military spending while gutting public funds
for real climate and biodiversity action, overseas aid, social welfare, migrant
justice, civil society and peacebuilding. This trend is echoed globally and,
indeed, has global consequences for people and planetary health. If NATO
states would meet the spending target of 5% of GDP accepted by almost all
members at the June 2025 NATO Summit, they would divert $19 trillion to
military build-up by 2030. Estimates suggest this would generate an extra
2,760 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2) over the
next five years – that is, more carbon emissions than the combined annual
emissions of Brazil and Japan.
We need to invest in building a safer and fairer world in the long-term, rather
than in fuelling armed violence, social disaster and climate breakdown. It is
time to Move the Money from militarisation to just forms of social security and
climate action. It is time to break the ties with military and fossil power, for the
world’s wealthiest to reckon with colonialism and make progress on
reparations for loss and damage. It is time to rally behind a system-wide,
rapid and equitable transition toward just, true sustainable and regenerative
global and national economies and societies. A Just Transition leaves no
one behind – including those caught up in polluting industries, from arms to
fossil fuels.
WILPF was founded to stop wars and prevent future wars by dismantling the
causes of war and armed conflict. As a women’s international peace
organisation with over 100 years of experience, WILPF seeks to shift our UK
government’s local, regional, national and international policy away from
aiding and abetting military confrontation and, instead, move towards
negotiation and peace.
We urge the UK Government to think again about national security,
reallocating resources towards building resilience and security in ways that
genuinely protect people’s lives. Investment in diplomacy, conflict resolution
and sustainable development will provide long-term stability, as opposed to
the short-term, profit-driven motives of the military-industrial complex.
If national security is truly about safeguarding the wellbeing of citizens, then
this must be measured in terms of access to healthcare, education, climate
justice, and economic stability rather than the capacity to inflict mass
destruction. Climate change, pandemics, cyber threats and economic
inequality are the defining challenges of the 21 st century. Redirecting military
spending towards tackling these crises will not only strengthen domestic
security but will also position the UK as a global leader in sustainable
peacebuilding.
[Figures taken from https://climatemilitarism.org]
