Veterans Support Monitoring and Reducing Military Emissions

Congresswoman Barbara Lee (CA-13) introduced a resolution aimed at monitoring and reducing the carbon footprint of the U.S. military - the single largest institutional source of greenhouse gas emissions on the planet.

Veterans For Peace (VFP) thanks Representative Barbara Lee (CA-13) for her leadership in introducing the resolution Recognizing the Duty of the Department of Defense to Annually Report All Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Progress on Reduction Targets (H Res 767). VFP is also pleased to join with numerous other peace and environmental organizations in supporting Rep. Lee's resolution (Click here for full list of endorsers).

Although Lee's resolution is an expression of the "sense of the House of Representatives," it is in support of the legal mandate within the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 which states "Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and House of Representatives and to the Comptroller General a report on the total level of greenhouse gas emissions for each of the last 10 fiscal years".

This resolution is also supportive of that portion of the House version of the FY 2022 NDAA, which calls for "a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions consistent with preventing an increase in global average temperature of greater than or equal to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels" (H.R.4530).

"As President Biden said this week at COP26 in Glasgow, we are at an inflection point in world history," Congresswoman Lee said. "The U.S. must lead the effort to limit warming to just 1.5 degrees Celsius to avoid the most catastrophic impacts of climate change. We must do our part to immediately and drastically draw down the world's greenhouse gas emissions, and that includes monitoring and reducing the carbon footprint of the single largest institutional source of emissions on the planet - the U.S. military. We are already seeing the horrific consequences of the climate crisis - the wildfires that ravaged my home state of California this year are just one example. The time for transformative action is now."

This resolution follows Veterans For Peace letter to Special Climate Envoy John Kerry to focus on U.S. militarism and wars as main contributors to the climate crisis.

"The climate crisis is past the point where the U.S. can just take symbolic action, nor can we accept military greenwashing. Veterans see first hand the cost of war and it is imperative that we work to minimize the Pentagon's carbon footprint," says Adrienne Kinne, Army veteran, 1994-2004.