What happens when the American war machine slows down? It burns less fuel

Every hour, the U.S. military burns enough energy to power mid-sized U.S. cities for a week.

But a new analysis shows that the appetite for oil drops cos as Washington tightens its Pentagon wallet. If defense spending continues to be cut, the military can outweigh the amount of energy used in the year Delaware or Slovenia consumes. Unlike expensive retrofits and fuel-efficient drives, this change costs nothing except political will.

Defensive ability cuts energy more than increased energy cuts

The U.S. military has long been the world’s largest energy agency consumer and one of the world’s largest greenhouse gas emitters. But the study was published in PLOS climaterevealing an asymmetry: a cut in military spending has reduced Pentagon’s energy use by nearly 1%. Increase your budget by 1%? The energy is hardly ticking. “It’s not just what you’re buying,” the author wrote. “That’s what you don’t use.”

In other words: ending war and training means parking boxes, grounding aircraft and closing the base – dramatically reducing fuel combustion. Simply adding more dollars won’t expand the activity immediately in the same way.

• Military energy use dropped from 1360 trillion BTU in 1975 to 622 trillion BTU in 2022
• Jet fuel alone accounts for more than half of all Pentagon energy
• Use more than 1% of the fuel for decorating vehicles and equipment
• Energy use may drop by another 5% under steep cutouts by 2032

Less battle is the greenest move

The Ministry of Defense issues more carbon than many countries – comparable to Sweden or Portugal. Despite the reduction in emissions in recent decades, the study argues that budget choices mask the improvement in efficiency. “These findings suggest that the main results are driven in large part by changes in jet fuel consumption.” The authors noted that the grounded air fleet can save greater emissions than any other single action.

Even moderate cleavage of compounds. In a steep scenario based on 2032, the use of military energy will drop to 588 trillion btus, how gold eliminates the footprint of the entire small country. Continuously increasing spending, while energy use creeps exceeding 800 trillion BTUs.

Quiet climate leverage no one talks about

The Pentagon has long tried to use biofuels and an effective base green. But researchers believe reducing deployment and pruning budgets may be the most effective climate policy for the Department of Defense. “Our findings suggest that the continued reduction in U.S. military spending could lead to annual energy savings with everything consumed annually by 2032 by the Slovenian state or Delaware.”

As the world faces increased climate risks, it’s an uncomfortable fact: one of the fastest ways for the U.S. to cut emissions may just be a fight against fewer wars.

Based on: Thombs RP, Jorgenson AK, Clark B (2025) Reducing U.S. military spending may lead to a significant drop in energy consumption. PLOS Climbing 4 (7): E0000569.

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