Study: Reducing militarization key to addressing climate crisis

A new study published in the American Sociological Review finds that militarization can amplify the effect of economic growth on carbon emissions. The study was conducted by a team of sociologists, including Wayne State University professor Jeffrey Kentor.

The study found that both the size and capital intensiveness of the world's militaries enlarge the effect of economic growth on nations' carbon emissions. "This study advances the scientific understanding of the human dimensions of climate change," said Kentor. "Our primary contribution is to explore how and why national militaries shape the effect of economic growth on carbon emissions."

The authors estimated longitudinal models of emissions for 106 nations from 1990 to 2016, with a particular focus on the three-way interaction between economic growth, military expenditures per soldier, and military participation rate. This three-way interaction allowed the authors to quantify the effect of economic growth on emissions at different levels of military expenditures per soldier and military participation rate simultaneously. Across various model specifications, robustness checks, and a range of sensitivity analyses, the authors found that economic growth increases carbon emissions more in countries with high militarization.

The study found that both military expenditures per soldier and military participation increase the impact of economic growth on national carbon emissions. Through a modeling of the three-way interaction, the authors determined that the "effect of GDP per capita on emissions is larger at higher levels of expenditures per solider, and this increases across the distribution of military participation rate. Likewise, the effect of GDP per capita on carbon pollution is larger at higher levels of military participation rate, and this increases across the distribution of military expenditures per soldier."

In the most recent year covered by their data, the authors' findings suggest that average per capita carbon emissions would be twenty-five percent lower than observed if all countries had the same levels of militarization as countries at the tenth percentile of militarization.

The study's findings have important implications for climate policy. As the world's militaries continue to grow in size and sophistication, they will become an even greater source of carbon emissions. This means that countries that are serious about addressing the climate crisis will need to find ways to reduce their military spending and participation in wars.

According to Kentor, this is the first climate-related article ever published in the American Sociological Review. "It reflects the growing significance of this issue in our field," he added. "In addition to advancing basic research on the impact of economic development on climate change, we hope our study stimulates others to consider the military in scholarship across the discipline."