Introduction

The Indian Armed Forces have a sterling record on ecological conservation - stabilisation of sand dunes, afforestation of the Thar Desert, managing watersheds in Himachal and Uttarakhand or reclaiming the barren Mussoorie hills, mines, in Delhi - all of these projects have been carried out by with military-like work culture and commitment. The Army, in particular, has contributed to the conservation of nearly extinct species in wildlife - the Great Indian Bustard, The Ring -necked Crane and the snow leopard. The forces have been in the forefront in the fight to save the planet.

The Ecological Task Force battalions of the Territorial Army (TA) have been raised to execute specific ecology-related projects by enrolling ex-servicemen and have created history with their success stories.

The Indian Air Force has made a beginning with experimenting with use of biofuels for their transport aircraft. The Indian Navy has undertaken numerous projects for the cleaning of the beaches, protection of mangrove swamps, marine life and corals.

It is time for the Armed Forces to now make a mark by taking steps to contribute to the environment by reducing their carbon foot-print where they can, without compromising on their operational efficiency.

There are many areas, particularly in peace stations and bases where substantial measures can be taken to reducing carbon emmissions, using cleaner energy, energy savings through better building designs, efficient transportation, heating & lighting methods, recycling waste and such other measures.

Aim

The aim of Energy Strategy for the Armed Forces is to enable information exchange on best practices and technologies for advancing energy efficiency in the military. The thrust is to find ways and means to make the military less dependent on fossil fuel and to increase the effectiveness and improve the security of future military missions, while reducing the military’s carbon footprint.

The event will bring together numerous experts from military, industry and academia and create the platform to present the expertise, discuss lessons learned. The virtual exhibition will offer an opportunity for companies to present their innovative energy efficiency technologies.

Scale of the Problem

The climate costs of mobilizing military assets and personnel—including movement of manpower, millions of tons of hardware and equipment, food supplies and related services -  is huge.

Vast swathes of military are big carbon emitters – tanks, trucks jet planes, much of the navy except nuclear-powered submarines. The military's carbon "boot" print comes from production of military equipment, energy use at military bases (energy use, food, waste management) and vehicle use (aircraft, marine vessels and land vehicles). The impact of war on the environment is entirely different level of concern. This does not include emissions of contractors and suppliers.

Training of the Armed Forces is large in scale involving movement over long distances, using live ammunition and explosives, transport and combat vehicles. There is increasing scope for employing Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality & Virtual Reality-based simulators to reduce the impact through realistic simulated training, while not completely replacing live exercises and training. It is now possible to create realistic scenarios indoors - by day and night - for all arms and services to train and to exercise procedures without producing pollutants.

The Iraq war was responsible for 141 million tonnes (MT) of carbon releases in its first four years, according to an Oil Change International report. On an annual basis, this was more than the emissions from 139 countries in this period, or about the same as putting an extra 25m cars on the roads for a year. Spending on the Iraq war could cover all global investments in renewable energy needed to halt global warming trends in the period to 2030.

A long-range bomber produces 251 tonnes CO2e per mission. A fighter bomber 28 tonnes CO2e per mission. The average freight truck  emits 161.8 grams of CO2 per ton-mile.

Armed Forces and Climate Change

Today, each country is required to render reports to the UN on their emissions, but these exclude any fuels purchased and used by the military. As a result it is still difficult to calculate the exact responsibility of the world’s military forces for greenhouse gas emissions.

Armed forces of countries around the world will no longer be automatically exempted from emissions-cutting obligations under the UN Paris climate deal, when enforced. Decisions will be left to nation states as to which national sectors should make emissions cuts before 2030. Exemptions can only be sought through legislative exemption.

While the atmosphere counts the carbon from the military, it is politically inconvenient to reduce military emissions.

In many countries, activities including intelligence work, law enforcement, emergency response, tactical fleets and areas classified as national security interests are also exempted from reporting obligations.

The Need to Discuss Solutions

The beginning point could be an audit of the carbon footprint of the Armed Forces so that scale and dimensions of the problem can be understood, a long term plan can be worked out and progress can subsequently be measured.

Some countries have launched strategies and adopted measures to reduce the carbon footprint of their military. Many have set targets to be achieved in the next 10 and 20 and 30 years.

Solutions must be discussed so that they can be incorporated in the planning of habitat, construction of buildings, operational functioning and training, General Staff Qualitative Requirements of some of the equipment, and allocations of financial support to implement the schemes.

While it is recognised that energy security should not impede the forces from performing their primary mission, the importance of energy efficiency for the conduct of military operations has come to the fore over the past decade. The weight of batteries to power the wide range of electronic equipment used by the military adds a substantial burden to soldiers. Moreover, fuel convoys are vulnerable to attack.

We must examine whether new technologies allow us to change the way we plan our missions, procure equipment, and conduct campaigns. The possibilities are endless - Solar power, hybrid power and microgrids for bases, better insulation for soldiers' habitat in extreme cold areas, fuel cells to power the equipment of individual soldiers, biofuels for military vehicles and so on.

Atmospheric water generator, intelligent power storage and management system, tents lined with insulation material, photovoltaic solar panels, light-emitting diode (LED) lamps, hydrogen fuel cell that produces electricity could replace diesel generators.

Role of Industry

Enhancing energy efficiency in the military focuses on reducing the energy consumption of military vehicles and camps, as well as minimising their environmental footprint. Energy-saving logistics solutions must come from private companies that can contribute equipment and expertise for ‘smart energy’ production, storage, distribution and consumption. Public sector experts from ministry of defence and universities have a role to play.

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