ACTION: Demand a Full Accounting of
the Pentagon’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Win Without War

(July 7, 2023) — Right now, Congress is debating the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) — also known as the Pentagon’s annual budget bill — and Republican climate denialism is front and center.

As the country choked on wildfire smoke from Canada, and as sweltering heat waves melted electrical grids in Texas, MAGA Republicans like Rep. Matt Gaetz and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene are moving to eliminate every effort to combat climate change and reduce emissions from the Pentagon.

But the reality is that the Pentagon is the single largest institutional emitter on the planet, and research estimates show that the US war machine pumps more greenhouse gases than 140 whole countries.

That’s why progressive champions like Rep. Jamie Raskin are fighting to keep climate action in the NDAA. Rep. Raskin’s amendment to the NDAA will mandate that the Pentagon do a FULL accounting of its greenhouse gas emissions, and those of weapons contractors, and report them to Congress. Because right now, no one — not even the Pentagon — knows exactly how much greenhouse gases they’re pumping into the atmosphere.

ACTION: The bill has advanced out of the House Armed Services Committee and is headed to the floor. The fight for climate action is here and now. Can we count on you to rally around Rep. Raskin’s climate amendment and tell your member of Congress to support mandating the Pentagon to do a full accounting of its greenhouse gas emissions?

McCarthy’s MAGA Republicans have somehow managed to make the NDAA worse, and that is truly an accomplishment. Climate denialism is not the only thing in there. From restricting abortion access to critical race theory and drag shows on military bases — every right-wing culture war grievance basically made it into the bill. And once the NDAA reaches the floor in the coming days, we’re expecting even more absurd amendments from McCarthy’s MAGA Republicans.

News reports have come out that McCarthy might be giving in even more to the extreme MAGA faction of his caucus, because he wants to mend fences with the far right after the debt ceiling drama. While McCarthy is the Speaker of the House, it’s Matt Gaetz, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the Freedom Caucus who are really running the show.

Climate action is one of the “woke” issues that the MAGA Republicans are howling that they will block. In this same bill, they’re already going after a much-needed regulation to force accountability from weapons makers for their massive greenhouse gas emissions, and they’re undermining efforts to shift the US military toward clean energy use. The bill is now headed to the floor, and this is our opportunity to demonstrate our collective power.

That’s why it’s so important that grassroots activists from around the country send a strong message to members of Congress right now to voice your support for climate action like the amendment that Rep. Raskin is fighting for.

Progressives in Congress are showing up for climate action, and they’re counting on activists from across the country to show up as well. Overwhelming grassroots pressure will help keep our champions united in opposition to this extremely bad NDAA bill, and signal to extremists and climate deniers that the people are against them — and make them think twice about pushing through their right-wing agenda.

Thank you for working for peace,
Eric, Yint, Sam, and the Win Without War team