Brazilian officials have rebuked the push to increase defence spending, as it tries to bring countries together for negotiations on tackling climate change later in the year.
Last year’s COP climate conference ended in disappointment after failing to cough up anything like enough money to help countries cope with already rising sea levels, heavier floods and harsher droughts, which are forcing people to migrate.
But this week NATO member states broadly agreed to a US demand to boost defence spending to 5% of gross domestic product.
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Leaders are anxious about military threats from Russia and terrorism, while the number of global conflicts and people killed in them have been rising since the 2000s.
Brazil’s climate minister Marina Silva, in London to drum up support before Brazil hosts COP30 in November, admitted countries are somewhat “preoccupied”.
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“We have been discussing for so many years, the $100bn, the $300bn, and then now the $1.3 trillion targets that we need [for climate funding],” she told a news conference on Thursday.
And then “very swiftly, there is an announcement of the increase of 5% in the expenditure in defence” when that money “ought to be going in the other direction”, she said via a translator.
The money should be used not to fight wars but for “fighting hunger [and] the climate emergency“, she added.
The UK in February raided its foreign aid budget to boost defence spending, prompting warnings it will struggle to keep its £11.6bn climate aid promise.
Her comments echo those of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who last week told G7 leaders: “Year after year, wars and conflicts accumulate.
“Military spending annually consumes the equivalent to Italy’s GDP.
“This corresponds to $2.7 trillion that could be invested in hunger eradication and the just transition.”
In Ukraine, “only dialogue between the parties can lead to a ceasefire and pave the way for lasting peace”, he said.
The fears about the world becoming more dangerous and fractured are set to make beleaguered climate talks even more challenging.
Governments are already failing to ditch fossil fuels and are grappling with a surge in power demand, driven by things like AI datacentres and air conditioning.
That means emissions of greenhouse gases continue to rise when they should be plummeting – though the rise appears to be tapering off.
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However minister Silva did say despite the “geopolitical context”, her team had encountered “a lot of the support and solidarity and commitment” to climate negotiations.
She also vowed this year’s COP would be “different from the preceding ones”, with a focus on implementing pledges.
They also met with King Charles and Prince William while they were in the capital for London Climate Action Week.
