Biden’s foreign policy has cannibalized his climate agenda
Speaking Security Newsletter n°164 | 19 July 2022
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New publication
I’ve got an article out today in Outrider* that looks at the interplay between Biden’s foreign policy and his climate agenda. Please read/share:
![Twitter avatar for @stephensemler](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/stephensemler.jpg)
![Biden’s infrastructure bill reduces emissions, but not enough to offset military-related emissions. The chart shows greenhouse gas emissions measured in metric tons of CO2e. The military-industrial complex produces 339 million metric tons of CO2e annually; Biden’s infrastructure bill will eventually reduce emissions by only 57 million metric tons annually. Infrastructure bill emissions data via Princeton University’s Zero Lab. Emissions for military and military industrial refer to 2017 levels; data via Neta Crawford, Costs of War Project. Chart and analysis by me, Stephen Semler.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fpbs.substack.com%2Fmedia%2FFYCkD8kXoAAeun8.jpg)
![Twitter avatar for @OutriderFdn](https://substackcdn.com/image/twitter_name/w_96/OutriderFdn.jpg)
![](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_600,h_314,c_fill,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fbucketeer-e05bbc84-baa3-437e-9518-adb32be77984.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fbfebb640-4f2b-4efa-b9cd-575beee53185_1200x781.jpeg)
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Data
My article leans heavily on research by the Costs of War Project on emissions attributable to the Pentagon’s operations, installations, and the industry it subsidizes. This bit isn’t the article, but I wanted to provide additional context for understanding the extent of US military-related emissions. Put simply, annual US military spending exceeds most countries’ GDP and its total greenhouse gas emissions more or less reflects that:
-Stephen (@stephensemler; stephen@securityreform.org)
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