MAKING THE CASE:
Why we need an excess profits tax on the global weapons industry to be levied and directed to the Loss & Damage (L&D) Funding Arrangement.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has served to inflate already considerable profit margins of the weapons companies who are contracted by governments to develop, manufacture and maintain fossil fuel hungry weaponry.
Our Transform Defence project estimates $30 billion per annum can be raised for Loss and Damage from weapons industry polluters.
It’s time to put the weapons industry in the climate change frame.
It’s time for an excess profits tax on the global weapons sector.
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KEY FACTS
The top 100 arms companies accounted for $592 billion in arms sales in 2021 (pre Ukraine).
The top 20 arms companies alone account for two thirds of the total arms sales in the world and come from just a handful of countries: USA, China, Russia, UK, France and Italy.
In the seven years to the 2030 target of 45% cuts to GHG emissions, the fossil fuel reliant global military will receive approx $15 trillion from their governments – a great deal of that will go, in turn, to the hugely profitable weapons industry.
The global military and its supply chain (the weapons industry) is estimated to account for 5.5% of global GHG emissions.
In 2020 public climate finance was estimated to be $321bn in 2020 – less than 20% of the $1981 billion sum spent by global military in the same year.
There is money for Loss and Damage and it should be recouped from the heavily polluting (killing and maiming) weapon industry.
It’s time to make weapons industry polluters pay.
TRANSFORM DEFENCE
2020: December launch of Transform Defence for Sustainable Human Safety with 2 publications: Indefensible and Value for Money.
2021: Open Letter to G7/G20 on military emissions reporting, signed by 32 experts worldwide; COP26 activity included full page ad in Scotsman; ice sculpture &video.
2022: Military and conflict emissions: Kyoto to Glasgow and Beyond – report leads to official side event at COP27 hosted by Ukraine and CAFOD, securing extensive global media on military emissions and UNFCCC reporting.
2023: Submission to UNFCCC Global Stocktake; side event Bonn Climate Conference. Excess profits tax proposal developed.
All publications are here.
Transform defence for sustainable human safety 