1. Militarism diverts crucial resources from the climate emergency After the failure of the G7 to reach meaningful agreement under UK leadership, there is serious concern for the vital COP26 negotiations. Government spending to reduce UK carbon emissions is dwarfed by new spending on weapons of war. 2. The military Industrial complex is fuelling climate …
Today marks the final withdrawal of coalition forces from Afghanistan after almost 20 years. What did the conflict cost us and what lessons does it provide for ‘Global Britain’? Human suffering It would be callous to discuss resource and opportunity costs before first reflecting on the monumental human cost of the conflict, in particular that …
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) today released it’s report into world wide spending on nuclear weapons in 2020. The report found that despite the pandemic, spending on weapons of mass destruction actually increased by $1.4 billion to an eyewatering $72.6 billion. According to the report the United Kingdom spent £4.46 billion ($6.2 …
We had an incredible response from GCOMS campaigners and supporting groups across the UK as part of the Global Days of Action on Military Spending (GDAMS) this year, below are a few of the highlights. Street demonstrations We weren’t just limited to online campaigning despite the continued lockdown, with a number of in person events …
170 Civil Society Organizations from 33 different countries demand that governments around the world drastically reduce their military expenditures, which reached almost 2 trillion $ in 2020, a 2.6% increase over the previous year. World military expenditure amounted to $1981 billion in 2020, a 2.6% increase over the previous year. In 2020, the biggest spenders …
26 April 2021. UK campaigning organisations are urging the government to rethink its military spending decisions in the light of the pandemic and the climate emergency. Figures released today by the world-renowned Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) show that global military spending in 2020 increased by 2.6% to $1981 billion and the UK’s military …
GLOBAL DAYS OF ACTION ON MILITARY SPENDING (GDAMS) The world spent $1.92 trillion on the military in 2019, a 3.6% increase over the previous year and the highest figure since the end of the Cold War. Our governments’ ever-growing military capacities, in the name of national security, have proved themselves completely useless to defend people …
The UK Government’s ‘Integrated Review’ document, due for release at noon today was leaked to the press late last night, the vision it paints of ‘Global Britain’ is very much one of military power projection. Under pressure to justify the cuts in aid particularly in regard to Yemen and Syria, the document does state that …
Today Rishi Sunak released details of the Budget at Westminster. It included an increase in military spending from £42bn in 2020-21 to £46 in 2021-22, part of a £24bn increase to the military budget over 4 years announced in November. This boost to military spending, the largest in 70 years – since the Korean War …
This briefing note was prepared by Dr Stuart Parkinson, Executive Director of Scientists for Global Responsibility. In November 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced a very large increase in UK military spending. Total additional spending is approx. £24bn over four years, i.e. an average of £6bn per year (see table and graphs in appendices). The …
