ACTION ON AUSTRALIA'S MILITARY EMISSIONS IS ESSENTIAL
If Australia is to reach its emissions reduction target, Australian Defence emissions must be addressed.
- In the years for which data has been made public, the ADF was responsible for 66% of the Australian Government’s emissions
- The ADF has not published complete energy use or emissions data since 2012
- ADF military operations drive increased emissions and abet the threat of climate change
The Australian Defence Force says it has initiated a range of investments to drive a 43% reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2040 - a decade ahead of the government’s overall national target.
However, the ADF has not published its plan for decarbonisation, and there is no information about the level of current Defence emissions, how the ADF measures them, or how it deals with operational emissions.
Reporting of Defence emissions through the National Inventory scheme has been poor.
If the ADF is to play a role in minimising the threat of climate change, decarbonisation alone will not be enough. It must also address how reducing military expenditure, activities and deployments, and increasing efforts towards peace and stability, can reduce emissions and minimise the threat of climate change.
At the international level, military emissions are voluntarily reported by states parties to climate conventions, excluded from the overall calculation of each state’s emissions, and exempted from clear emissions reduction targets.
Without concerted, collective action on military emissions, it is less likely that global temperature rise can be limited to 1.5°C as specified in the Paris Agreement.
Australia can:
- Commit to improved measurement, reporting, and scrutiny of Defence emissions
- Include Defence emissions from all sources and supply chains in overall calculations of Australia’s emissions, and mandate a reduction target
- Work with other states to ensure that military emissions are on the table at COP27
-
Address how reducing military expenditure, activities and deployments, and increasing efforts towards peace and stability can reduce emissions and minimise the climate threat