Many world leaders are gathered in Dubai for COP28, the annual United Nations summit on climate change. Meanwhile, some 2,400 kilometers to the west, the Israeli war on Gaza rages.
Sixty days after the start of the war, Israeli bombs killed around 16,000 people, including more than 6,600 children. But experts are increasingly concerned about its effects on the environment and on Gaza’s ability to fight climate change.
From polluted water supplies to toxic, smoke-filled air from burning buildings and bodies, every aspect of life in Gaza is now filled with some form of pollution.
“On the ground, this war has destroyed every aspect of Gaza’s environment,” Nada Majdalani, Palestinian director of EcoPeace Middle East based in Ramallah, told Tel Aviv Tribune.
Here’s a look at how the enclave’s unstoppable bombardment could further affect climate change in a region that has already seen temperatures rise, with projections of an increase of 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) d by the end of the century.
How has Israeli bombing affected climate change measures taken in Gaza?
Gaza has been under siege by Israel for 16 years, with Israeli authorities holding – among other things – reliable access to fuel and electricity in the enclave.
As a result, Gaza’s population has largely turned to solar energy to power their homes.
“Gazans have adapted to the climate and around 60% of their energy is said to come from solar energy,” Majdalani said.
But Israeli bombing damaged or destroyed thousands of buildings, many of which were covered in solar panels.
“The destruction of solar panels not only targets people’s well-being, it diminishes the efforts of Gazans to adapt to the climate and take steps to ensure clean energy,” she said.
“These solar installations now lie in rubble and buildings have been destroyed, setting back Gaza’s efforts to combat climate change. »
What are the main environmental concerns on the ground?
In the midst of war, “it is difficult to get figures and measurements of the extent of the damage” caused to Gaza’s environment, Majdalani said.
But some things are clear. Decaying bodies and contaminated water supplies constitute a “time bomb” that will lead to the spread of disease, she said.
“Right now, this is the biggest concern, and everyone should be worried, including Israel. Having military power on the ground cannot protect them against the predicted spread of cholera.”
Impending rains are another concern. Majdalani’s team estimates that 44 percent of gas, water and sanitation facilities have been completely or partially damaged in Gaza since the start of the war. This includes water wells and wastewater treatment. Sewage has already flooded Gaza’s streets, but if rain mixes with dirt, the risks of cholera and other gastrointestinal illnesses increase further.
“The damage caused by the war to Gaza’s sanitation and hygiene infrastructure makes flooding more likely with winter rains,” said Doug Weir, director of the Conflict and Environment Observatory, a research organization. independent research based in the UK.
Even before the current war, inadequate sanitation infrastructure and electricity shortages meant that untreated sewage was dumped into the sea and was responsible for more than a quarter of illnesses. It is the main cause of child morbidity in the Gaza Strip.
According to the Norwegian Refugee Council, the total closure of sewage treatment plants in October, after Israel imposed a total blockade on all fuel entering the strip, resulted in the daily release of more than 130,000 cubic meters of untreated sewage into the Mediterranean Sea, posing a serious problem for the environment.
With the destruction caused by the current war, huge amounts of debris and waste are blocking sewers, Weir warned. This, he said, “will increase the amount of stagnant water, with associated risks to human health from communicable diseases due to the mixing of sewage with rainwater.”
Could there also be an increase in carbon emissions, worsening global warming?
This war, like others before it, requires large quantities of fossil fuels, leading to excessive carbon emissions and pollutants into the environment.
Previous reports suggest that 25,000 tons of munitions were dropped on Gaza in the first weeks of the war. The resulting carbon emissions would be equivalent to the annual energy consumption of approximately 2,300 homes, or the annual greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of approximately 4,600 passenger vehicles.
The world’s military forces also use fossil fuels to power their planes, tanks and weapons, accounting for about 5.5% of global emissions. This figure could be higher as defense forces are not required to report their carbon emissions, as this could harm national security.
“Methods for counting conflict emissions are in their infancy,” Weir told Tel Aviv Tribune.
But things are changing little by little.
Last week, the UN Environment Program’s flagship emissions gap report, released before each COP meeting, mentioned conflict and military emissions for the first time, calling for more research into the subject.
What effects do the weapons used in Gaza have on the environment?
Groups like Human Rights Watch have also accused Israel of using white phosphorus munitions in Gaza, which has further worsened air pollution, Majdalani said. “As Gaza enters the rainy season, we expect the rain to fall as acid rain, contaminated with white phosphorus. »
People who use plastic sheeting to collect rainwater and drink it directly, amid a shortage of drinking water, could be particularly at risk, she said.
During the first weeks of the war, the United Nations humanitarian agency OCHA reported that Israel dropped 42 bombs every hour on Gaza.
In addition to emissions from weapons, their manufacturing also contributes to pollution, Weir said. “They emit much more emissions during production, for example when creating the metal for their cases.”
Reports from Ukraine suggest the fighting released some 100 million tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere in the first seven months of the war.
So what about Gaza?
“We expect that the majority of emissions from this war will come from the use of military fuel – Israeli jet fuel and diesel, from urban and landscape fires caused either by the destruction of buildings or targeted attacks, and from the carbon costs of reconstruction of Gaza. »
How will destroyed buildings and reconstruction contribute to climate change?
Other risks include fires, pulverized building materials that may contain harmful substances like asbestos, and pollutants released from hazardous materials facilities.
Even the reconstruction of war-torn areas turned into rubble causes significant emissions. “Producing concrete and cement to rebuild generates a large amount of carbon dioxide, which contributes to the climate crisis,” Weir said.
Lennard de Klerk of the War GHG Accounting Initiative made a rough calculation of the amount of GHG emissions that would result from rebuilding only residential and non-residential buildings that were destroyed or damaged after the first six weeks of the war.
He told Tel Aviv Tribune that “5.8 million tonnes of carbon emissions would be released to produce construction materials and emissions from construction activities themselves.”
This already represents a fifth of the emissions projected for the reconstruction of Ukraine after its war, which has lasted for 21 months, compared to two months in Gaza.