Trump’s birthday parade slammed for climate damage and military excess

On the eve of his birthday, June 14, 2025, United States President Donald Trump oversaw a parade of US troops, tanks, armoured personnel carriers and fighter jets — marking not only his birthday but also the 250th anniversary of the US military.

Aside from the lack of enthusiasm among marching troops and Trump’s stern expression, the event has drawn criticism for highlighting the rise of autocracy in the US and for its environmental cost.

The parade generated over 2 million kilogrammes of climate-warming emissions, roughly equivalent to producing 67 million plastic bags or the annual energy consumption of around 300 households. According to an analysis by the progressive think tank Institute for Policy Studies and British daily newspaper The Guardian, the event featured 150 military vehicles, including 60 tanks, armoured combat vehicles and over 50 helicopters and aircraft. Some aircraft from the Second World War were also included, such as the Mustang fighter and B-25 missile bomber. These older machines are notorious gas guzzlers, consuming hundreds of gallons of fuel every hour.

The emissions from the event were estimated to be comparable to flying 4,700 people in first class from North Carolina to Washington, DC. However, this estimate is likely conservative, as it does not account for pollution caused by transporting thousands of participants, horses and equipment to the event, or other energy consumed during the parade.

“We’re spending money to glorify gas-guzzling equipment used for war, genocide and planetary destruction.” Hannah Holmstead, research analyst at the Institute for Policy Studies, told The Guardian. Her comment highlighted that some of the vehicles featured in the parade were once used to transport napalm during the Vietnam War and are now being used in the conflict between Israel and Gaza.

Lindsay Koshgarian, programme director at the Institute for Policy Studies, described the parade’s emissions as “egregious”. “This parade comes alongside proposals for a $1tn Pentagon budget, along with massive cuts to healthcare, food programs, and an ideological attack on climate programs both in the Pentagon and across government,” she told The Guardian. “The more we spend on sending these fuel-guzzling tanks and helicopters around the world, the less we have to protect our people, communities and the planet.”

In recent years, the armed forces have come under growing scrutiny for their carbon emissions, with the US Department of Defense identified as the single largest institutional emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.