Geopolitical Ecology of Military Carbon Emissions: China, US in the Pacific

Militaries around the world are a major source of carbon emissions, equal to that of medium sized countries, yet very little is known about their carbon footprint. Reliable data around military resource use and environmental damage is highly variable. Researchers are dependent upon military transparency, the context of military operations, and broader emissions reporting (Belcher et al. 2020; Neimark et al. 2024; Otu-Larbi et al. 2024). One way to measure military emissions is to construct a Life-Cycle-Assessment of its massive logistical supply chains – basically follow military hardware and hydrocarbons from ‘cradle to grave.’ While studies are beginning to emerge on LCA of global militaries and their massive carbon footprints, less work has focused on the more interdisciplinary conceptual and theoretical issues of militaries, and their effect on the climate.
This project takes a “geopolitical ecology” approach – one that combines the strengths of political ecology and economy, with those of geopolitics to account for, and gain a deeper understanding of, the role of large geopolitical institutions, like the global militaries, in environmental change.

This project will specifically focus on the Pacific theatre, and most namely a significantly understudied aspect of military emissions work, the carbon footprints of US Chinese Navy vessels.

This builds off previous work on the geopolitical ecology examination of US military’s sustainable biofuels project, the great Green Fleet’ (see Bigger and Neimark 2018). What does the carbon footprint of a US and Chinese Navy vessel look like, and how are local environments effects where these massive supply chains touch down? What are the critical geopolitical drivers surrounding these massive supply chains, and the political economic foundations they are built upon?

Description of work to be undertaken by the student including targets/goals
Examine the geopolitics and multi-scalar climate and ecological footprint of China and US militaries in the Pacific. Essentially, the student will explore secondary economic data to create a life-cycle analysis of supply chain logistics and their carbon output and the geopolitical and political economic effects of these supply chains. The supply chain logistics will include an inventory of military ships in the pacific during a particular period, the fuel burned by a sample number of these ships, and the estimated carbon output of those ships. They will then, using this LCA data, analyse the geopolitical, ecological/climate and political economic ramifications of military posturing by the US and China. Studies of geopolitical ecology of military emissions has successfully demonstrated by a network of researchers (Belcher et al. 2020; Neimark et al. 2024; Otu-Larbi et al. 2024), however, up to this point, military maneuvers by China and the US have essentially been left out of current analysis. This breakthrough work would have significant impact, as it would be the first of its kind to conduct an analysis of carbon emissions of China. The student would be doing cutting-edge interdisciplinary work (see below) including integrating supply chain logistics and greenhouse-gas emissions with a specific focus on some of the largest militaries in the world. Estimations can be made for the Chinese vessels, as the withholding of data from secondary sources may be an issue. However, we are confident that there is already enough data online in English, there to make meaningful estimations. It is important to stress that the project is about the theoretical lens less taken by researchers, not the technical details of LCA.
Specifically, the student will do the following:

1. Collect secondary economic data on the supply chains of one “representative” US and one comparable Chinese Navy vessel.
2. Using the developed framework around critical logistical supply chain analysis examine deeper the political economic and critical geopolitical drivers of the manufacturing and use of these ships.
3. Explore what are, if any, the local and regional environmental effects of where the supply chain touches down – where the ships are manufactured.
4. Examine the climate effects of the use of these ships and the long-term atmospheric damage of their use, known as carbon lock-in.
5. Write a draft manuscript for publication in a high-ranking interdisciplinary journal (e.g., Nature Climate Change, Global Environmental Change).
6. Present this work in the LISS network partners and in particular at the Centre on Labour, Sustainability and Global Production (CLaSP)

The main supervisor is Dr. Benjamin Neimark and the intern will report directly to him. However, they will be working closely with other academics in Oxford and Durham. They can also work alongside Patrick Bigger, who is based at a US Progressive Think Tank – Clim

1. Learn to conduct cutting edge research on military emissions though the collection and analysis of military secondary economic data.
2. Learn to collaborate with a network of global scholars working on military emissions (Neta Crawford, Oxford, Patrick Bigger, USA, Oliver Belcher, Durham).
3. Work with civil society partners about how to integrate findings and gain maximum research impact (e.g., military emissions gap, Conflict and Environment Observatory)
4. Learn basic Life-Cycle Assessment – how to apply it and use it as an interdisciplinary methodological tool for further theoretical analysis.
5. Learn the ins and outs of how to craft a publishable manuscript and have the possibility of being a co-author on a high-quality publication.
6. Learn new research methods on supply chain logistics and the more theoretical aspects of geopolitical ecology.

Intellectual creativity and willingness to learn and explore. Motivation and ability to overcome difficult challenges of secondary data organization and analysis. Some familiarity of political ecology, geopolitics and/or political economy a plus. Strong writing skills also a plus.

Familiarity with quantitative and quantitative data would be a plus.

Please read this publication: Belcher, O., Bigger, P., Neimark, B., & Kennelly, C. (2020). Hidden carbon costs of the “everywhere war”: Logistics, geopolitical ecology, and the carbon boot-print of the US military. Transactions of the Institute of British Geographers, 45(1), 65-80. https://rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/tran.12319

And this Conversation Piece: https://theconversation.com/how-to-assess-the-carbon-footprint-of-a-war-215575

The student will present their finding at the Centre on Labour, Sustainability and Global Production (CLaSP) based at Queen Mary and online with the Climate and Community Institute – among other opportunities if a relevant conference comes up.

1. Please send your CV and a brief cover letter outlining your interest and suitability to the project supervisor(s). Please contact the project supervisor(s) in advance of submitting the application with any questions.

2. If selected by the project supervisor

• LISS DTP students must then complete the LISS DTP Placement /Internship Application form. This ensures that there is approval of PhD supervisor, and the necessary information is obtained to extend funding (for DTP1 students) or confirm placement requirement fulfilled (for DTP2 students), and to fulfil ESRC reporting obligations. LISS DTP approval must be given before the RA internship can commence.
• Other ESRC-funded DTP students should follow the internship application processes from their home DTP.

Please note for LISS DTP students:

• Research Assistant Internships must not be undertaken with the student’s current supervisor and/or home department.
• DTP1 students (those whose funding commenced before Oct24): a maximum of 4 Research Assistant internships will be funded. These will be filled on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the 4 DTP1 places are filled, we will inform PIs that only DTP2 students are eligible for the Research Assistant internships. PLEASE NOTE THAT ALL DTP1 PLACES HAVE NOW BEEN FILLED.
• DTP2 students (those whose funding commenced from Oct24): are required to complete a 3-month placement, which is funded through their studentship. No limits to number that can be funded.
• Reports: at the conclusion of the internship, the student will be required to complete an internship report, which will include a question for the internship host to feedback on the internship.

Contact liss-dtp@kcl.ac.uk with any questions.