Last month, people across the southeastern U.S. lost their homes, communities, and lives to the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene. To protect our shared future, decarbonization and demilitarization must go hand-in-hand. 

Colonial violence and militarism are at the root of global inequality, ecological devastation, and perpetual conflict that is driving the triple planetary crisis.

It’s Earth Day today, and the U.S. and the world seem determined to ignore the climate crisis and instead invest in war. That’s a huge mistake. 

Power Shift 2023 makes space for the coming together of ideas and movements, including climate and militarism.

This country’s spending on the Pentagon and nuclear weapons is done in the name of “national security.” Not to mention the billions more for “homeland security,” largely in the form of immigration enforcement, deportations, and border militarization.

Meanwhile, thousands of people in Florida and Puerto Rico are without basic security after Hurricane Ian, having lost power, homes and loved ones to the latest in the string of extreme weather events that have grown more frequent and more devastating due to climate change.

No matter your specific organizational or ideological affiliation, anyone who cares about climate change today ought to understand the critical connections between war, imperialism, and the climate crisis.

On the campaign trail, Joe Biden promised to “lead a major diplomatic push to raise the ambitions of countries’ climate targets.” But the U.S. continues to under-deliver on climate finance as military spending soars.  

While climate change fuels migration, the United States hardens its southern border instead of investing in real sources of safety for people in this country and around the world. 

Plans for a Just Transition away from defense industries do not need to be pulled out of thin air. The ongoing efforts to transition economies, workers, and communities out of the harmful fossil fuel economy provides insights into what works and what doesn’t.