In a constantly changing political climate, now more than ever, is the time to recognize our common targets and root issues of the world. As Earth Day approaches on April 22nd, we are calling attention to the need to unite the climate justice and anti-war movements to address our inextricably linked goals. The U.S. military has waged and fueled imperialist wars, invasion, and conquest for decades for the sake of taking oil out of the ground, uranium mining for nuclear build-up, and power against so-called enemies like China (a leader in green energy). Instead of choosing to cooperate on green energy and diplomacy or respecting national sovereignty and self-determination, the U.S. has chosen death, destruction, and escalation. This build-up has contributed to the U.S. military’s status as the #1 institutional polluter in the world.
Throughout April, our anti-war movement will be highlighting how concerns for profit and warmaking from our elected officials and the war economy have exacerbated the climate crisis and threatened every aspect of our planet's existence.
At the same time, corporations, politicians, and organizations funded by warmongers will refuse to touch many of the underlying drivers of the climate crisis. The Global North will refuse to take accountability for their role in the destruction of the Global South and those who are most vulnerable. Climat and earth science conferences will be sponsored by weapons manufacturers and firms like Blackrock. Meanwhile, the US is continuing to advance the genocide and ecocide in Palestine, imperial expansion into the Asia-Pacific, resource exploitation and destruction of the Congo, and repression within the country. This month, we are addressing the elephant in the room when it comes to climate: that war, imperialism, and militarism must be dismantled in order to save our planet from climate collapse and save lives from our environmental sacrifice zones. We will confront the many dimensions of U.S. militarism around the world: its global presence and sprawl of military bases, its impact on the land, nuclear expansion, and endless war. We'll explore how to create an anti-militarist climate movement that works to end wars, prioritizes Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, and imagines peace through liberation.
☮️🌍 Sign onto our Environmentalists Unite: War Fuels the Climate Crisis! Open Letter 🌍☮️
Sign on as an individual Sign on as an organization
Building a Local and Global Anti-Militarist Climate Movement: Local Actions for the People and Planet
Be in action all Earth Month!
Throughout April, climate demonstrations, actions, ad campaigns, and communications materials will be constantly produced.
Be in conversation with the organizers of these events! Ask if the cost of the Pentagon as the #1 institutional polluter can be discussed!
Show up to demonstrations as an “anti-war contingent” or “anti-imperialist contingent” to be in solidarity with broader messaging but to not let anyone forget or go-on uneducated about the elephant in the room.
Invite grassroots climate organizations and local chapters of larger climate organizations to join anti-war protests. The war machine is raging on throughout the month.
Disrupt! Amidst all of this, companies like Blackrock, Lockheed Martin, and more will sponsor climate summits, talk about their “green” plans, and continue to brush their involvement in climate collapse, genocide, and ecocide under the rug.
Invite Organizations to Sign-On to our Pledge
This includes current partner organizations and small and large environmental, climate, land defense, and anti-war organizations that are in your area (this includes chapters of national/international organizations).
Invite Organizations to bring a climate perspective to the anti-war movement!
Join a local anti-war/militarism protest around some of our issues/with our partners:
Engage in one of our campaigns– whether it demands to stop the bombing in Palestine and rebuild a healthy Gaza, which has been contaminated by the relentless bombing over the past 18 months, or for the US to take its hands off Yemen, Syria, Lebanon, or Iran. Whether it’s to stop arms sales to Ukraine and to champion diplomacy or whether it’s to close our bases in the Asia-Pacific. Or whether it’s to be a good neighbor towards Latin America and the Caribbean, where our hybrid warfare and intervention have disrupted the natural environment and the ability to create climate resilience.
Or engage in campaigns from other anti-war organizations or campaigns we’ve endorsed: Taking the US out of the Philippines and Korea that militarize the Pacific for a war with China, against cop cities, the militarization of the border, or demanding the US out of Africa, including in areas like the DRC in the war that’s destroying the country and environment for “green tech” minerals.
Invite climate organizations to join us!
Use this as an opportunity to educate on the linkages between climate and militarism. Go to codepink.org/wing, and explore the linkages between some of the issues. Use this opportunity as a way to educate!
Feel free to use this sample email:
“Hi [insert climate organization], I’m writing to you because we appreciate the work that you have done for the planet. On [insert date] we will be taking action for [insert description of action].
We wanted to invite you to endorse this event and join us, given the inextricable linkages between climate change and militarism. The Pentagon is the #1 institutional polluter in the world and has over 800 bases around the world with known toxic chemicals like PFAS.
When it comes to [insert issue]……
[Include some customized info about the specific issue/linkages from our War Is Not Green website or open-letter fact sheet.]
We hope that you will join us to educate and agitate for ____, and show that this is a climate issue which impacts the reciprocal relationship between us and the natural world! [Hybrid] War is not green! We also invite you to sign onto this open letter, which describes the importance of uniting the climate justice and anti-war movements to combat one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions in the world.”
Combat the local intersections of the war economy and climate crisis
What’s happening around you? Is there a militarized cop city being built on forests? Are there military bases around you that are contaminating the environment? Pipelines built that police, state troopers, or the military assist in?
View this toolkit from the Global Day of Action to Close Base!
What institutions are there? Some examples might look like Blackrock, which is a major investor in weapons manufacturers, Elbit Systems, and banks like BNY Mellon and Citi (longtime targets of both anti-war and climare movements). Build a movement locally against these organizations and invite local climate and anti-war movements to be a part of it!
Are there local places assisting in the destruction of countries like the Philippines, Congo, Palestine, or the Asia-Pacific region? (Think headquarters of the military or defense departments, major companies profiting from this)