Bonn Climate Conference attendance + arms industry tax & military spending filtering through

The Bonn UN Climate Change Conference is a midway point in each year in the lead up to the annual COP. It serves as the mid-year meeting of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice. This year, 7000 delegates attended from governments, UN, civil society and media.

For our work on military emissions and military spending, it has become an important calendar moment and we attended our second Bonn conference in June 2024. We were able to deepen conversations started at previous gatherings (COP, Bonn, CAN International) as well as develop new climate finance conversations. Both military emissions and military spending were widely referenced and the latter gives hope we are making progress in getting it included in the climate finance debate.

However, overall, Bonn concluded after two weeks of intensive work across a range of issues where the urgent progress needed on GHG reductions and climate finance failed.

“We’ve taken modest steps forward here in Bonn,” said UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell in his closing speech. “[But] too many items are still on the table… We’ve left ourselves with a very steep mountain to climb to achieve ambitious outcomes in Baku.”

Genocide in Gaza

For civil society attending Bonn, the war on Gaza could not be ignored. It became centre stage when a protest was made inside the opening plenary to draw attention and which was picked up by media around the world.

Anabella Rosemberg and Tasneem Essop protest at the opening plenary (Photo: Kiara Worth/IISD ENB)

Military emissions

Given Gaza and Ukraine, it was concerning – and surprising – that Bonn did not accept any one or more of the four side events proposals on military emissions submitted by parties (governments) or civil society NGOs , bringing an abrupt halt to the progress we and others had hoped to build on at Bonn. This as the world has witnessed genocide in Gaza, and the was in Ukraine still ongoing. Side events remain vital to the introduction of new research and advocacy to delegates and this Bonn saw new emissions work released on both Gaza and Ukraine.

Nevertheless, military emissions are now being noted inside the formal negotiations and more widely, in general conversation, including as context for an arms industry sales tax (more below).

Climate finance, military spending + a sales tax on the arms industry

Arms industry tax proposal

‘At Bonn talks, G77 group floats a 5% sales tax on tech, fashion and defence firms to fund green spending in the Global South.’ Climate Home News

Early on in the conference, the debate about how to fill the coffers of the new climate finance goal – in other words, how to move from billions to trillions (and fast) – was clearly taking priority. While rich nations are obligated to pay for international climate finance under the Paris Agreement, they are now saying they are struggling to find the funds to do so and are calling on countries like China to step up also. To take the initiative back, Saudi Arabia, endorsed by Arab Group and G77+China offered a proposal whereby developed countries can raise $441 billion “without compromising spending on other priorities entirely by adopting targeted domestic measures” such as a “financial transaction tax”, a defence company tax, a fashion tax and a “Big Tech Monopoly Tax”.

‘Referring to the document in talks on the new finance goal yesterday, Saudi Arabia’s negotiator justified a tax on arms manufacturers by saying that military emissions of planet-heating gases represent 5% of global historical emissions.“One… potential idea is to have a tax on defence companies in developed countries,” he said, suggesting it could be put forward…. Around $21 billion a year could come from a 5% tax on the annual sales of the top 80 defense firms in developed countries, the paper says.’ Climate Home News

A proposal on an arms industry tax from one of the world’s biggest arms buyers, not to mention oil producers, certainly raised eyebrows in some quarters. It is supported by the Arab Group and G77+China and one can only wonder if the war on Gaza played some role in the inclusion of arms in this proposal.

The Saudi /Arab Group Sales Tax proposal resonated with our newly released report and reinforced the value of the call. We believe the inclusion of the arms industry in the sales tax proposal is a significant step in the right direction and will watch its progress closely. We remain committed to our excess profits tax idea which taxes 100% excess profits, not just 5% on sales, and which is universal, not just levied on rich world arms companies.

Military Spending at Bonn

Press Conferences

TPNS has worked hard to advocate for military spending to be part of the climate finance demands within the larger climate networks. Several of the Climate Action Network press conferences saw military spending & climate finance referenced to a packed media room.

Mohamed Adow, Director of Powershift Africa and a leading media spokesperson on climate and climate finance referenced military emissions and spending at a CAN Int’l press conference on Gaza.

Side Events

Military spending as (a) a comparison with and/or (b) a potential source to tap for climate finance was also referenced in a good number of NGO hosted climate finance side events.

Interfaith dialogue / strategy group

TPNS was able to make a presentation to this important group in their discussion on preparing for COP29. Deborah was invited to speak about the links between war, climate and military spending.

Media

Climate News Tax on Arms Industry.
ECO magazine (CAN Intl) covers military spend/climate finance and ref TPNS ‘correlation between spending and emissions’.
Scoop NZ – UNFCCC and War.
Politico TPNS’ submission to UN Global Stocktake.