The Iran War's Hidden Casualty

Mar 29, 2026 | Binoy Kampmark
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Truth may well be the first casualty of war, but death, injury and environmental degradation are bound to be keeping up in the hit lists. Attacks on gas fields, oil refineries and petrochemical plants will always leave an impression once the conflict concludes. In the case of carbon emissions, the most challenging obstacle in collective efforts to stay the rise of the earth’s temperatures, the Iran War is doing much to throw everything out of kilter.

The gloomy modelling from the Climate and Community Institute shows that the first fortnight of the Iran War, which began on February 28 as a crime against peace pursued by Israel and the United States, produced some 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide. To get a sense of proportion, the carbon pollution exceeded that of Iceland in one year. The institute, in arriving at such figures, considered the carbon emissions arising from destroyed homes and buildings, destroyed fuel, the fuel used in combat and support operations, equipment embodied carbon (equipment lost) and missiles and drones.