From Bombs to CO₂: The hidden climate toll of Gaza’s destruction

Researchers say the destruction of Palestinian homes, schools, and hospitals in Gaza by the Israeli regime between October 2023 and December 2024 has generated at least 39 million tons of concrete debris. Transporting this to landfill sites would require at least 2.1 million dump trucks and over 18 million miles (29.5 million kilometers) of travel.

According to researchers from the Universities of Edinburgh and Oxford—who used remote sensing tools to identify and analyze conflict-related data—clearing the debris left from Israeli attacks on Gaza will generate approximately 66,000 tons of CO₂-equivalent pollution.

The study, published in the journal Environmental Research: Infrastructure and Sustainability, is part of a growing movement to assess the climate and environmental costs of war and occupation—including long-term damage to land, food and water resources, and the challenges of post-war cleanup and reconstruction.

The Guardian wrote that this is the most precise assessment to date of the carbon and logistical toll of dealing with debris, which in Gaza contains thousands of unidentified humans remains, toxins like asbestos, and unexploded ordnance.

The research warns that the longer the contaminated rubble remains in place, the more it will harm the air, water, and health of the 2 million Palestinians who have now been displaced, starved, and bombarded for 21 months.

According to the British outlet, the Gaza Strip is a 25-mile-long stretch of land covering just 365 square kilometers—about twice the size of Washington D.C. More than 90% of homes in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed, along with the vast majority of schools, clinics, mosques, and critical infrastructure.

Nicholas Roy, one of the study’s authors who compiled the data and conducted the analysis, said the research combines current open-source data on building footprints, height, structural damage, and road network topology to estimate debris distribution across Gaza. It then calculates the carbon volume from processing and transporting the debris during the reconstruction process.

Researchers are working to quantify the climate costs of two of today’s deadliest conflicts: the Russia–Ukraine war and Israel’s military attacks in Gaza and the broader West Asia region. This could eventually help determine grounds for compensation claims.

In June, a study led by Neimark indicated that the long-term climate cost of demolishing, clearing, and rebuilding Gaza could reach 31 million tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions—more than the total annual greenhouse gas emissions of Costa Rica and Estonia in 2023. However, countries are not required to report military emissions to the UN’s climate body.

Stuart Parkinson, executive director of Scientists for Global Responsibility, commented: “Militaries and warfare are major but hidden drivers of the climate crisis. It is vital to consider the full range of activities—from weapons production to fuel use during conflict, from damage to carbon reserves like forests to post-war cleanup and reconstruction. This study adds to that broader truth about war-related emissions.”