WAR lives on in its victims. As the Russia-Ukraine war widens, the US-Israel war on Iran continues—punctuated by fragile ceasefires—and Israel’s devastating attacks on Gaza and Lebanon carry on, global discussions are increasingly pushing for a binding commitment on a victim bearing the brunt of it all: the environment.
The environment is literally under fire. On June 19, Iran’s Department of Environment reported that large-scale bombing of oil storage facilities, petrochemical plants and other landscapes have led to air, soil and water pollution, degradation of ecosystems and decline in biodiversity. It sought help from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to document the damage and explore legal action against the “perpetrators”. Earlier in March, Christian Lindmeier, spokesperson for the World Health Organization, mentioned reports of “black rain” and “acid rain” in Tehran.
Reports of “black rains” also came from the Moscow region on June 18, after an attack by Ukraine on a refinery. Meanwhile, the breach of the Kakhovka dam in Ukraine caused unprecedented damage to local ecosystems and biodiversity. According to an assessment of emissions from this war—a first for any conflict—the first three years of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine generated 230 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
In Gaza, it is estimated that the ongoing attacks have generated 61 million tonnes of debris, mixed with unexploded ordnance and toxic contaminants from munitions and asbestos. UNEP says Gaza lost 97 per cent of tree crops, 95 per cent of shrubs and 82 per cent of annual crops.
Militaries cover 1-6 per cent of surface land, often ecologically rich but fragile areas. An estimate from UK-based Scientists for Global Responsibility and Conflict and Environment Observatory states militaries are responsible for 5.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which do not fall under the 1992 Kyoto Protocol or the 2015 Paris Agreement.
In March this year, UNEP issued an urgent statement on environmental damage due to the ongoing wars, with its chief Inger Andersen calling the toll immediate and severe. This is when protection of the environment during conflicts already has global recognition. November 5 is marked as the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. Fifty years ago, the world adopted the Convention on the Prohibition of Military or Any Other Hostile Use of Environmental Modification Techniques, which prohibits “the use of environmental modification techniques as a means of warfare”. In 1977, two clauses were added to the Geneva Conventions “prohibiting methods or means of warfare that are intended, or may be expected, to cause widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”. A decade ago, the second session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA) adopted a resolution on protection of environment in conflict areas, citing a 1992 UN General Assembly resolution that called on countries to honour all international laws applicable to environment during conflicts. In 2024, UNEA adopted a consensus decision mandating UNEP to support countries to gauge and mitigate environmental impacts of conflicts. The International Court of Justice’s milestone advisory in July 2025, holding countries’ obligation for climate change, had an opinion by judge Sarah Cleveland on assessing and reporting greenhouse gas emissions from conflicts. But we are witness to how these commitments are blatantly breached. Andersen described it as a “new emerging vicious circle” adding, “the environment is both victim and a vector of global insecurity.” As the world battles hydra-like wars, the environment needs relief.
This article was originally published in the July 16-31, 2026 print edition of Down To Earth