THE world’s richest nations, including Britain, are spending 30 times more on their armed forces than on financial support for vulnerable countries to deal with the climate crisis. 

Twenty-three wealthy nations spent $9.45 trillion (£7.9tn) on the military between 2013 and 2021, compared to an estimated $243.9 billion (£204bn) on climate finance, according to a new report by the Transnational Institute and other groups. 

The think tank’s report, which comes as world leaders meet at the Cop27 climate summit in Egypt, claims military spending is accelerating climate breakdown, not only through increasing emissions but by diverting resources away from initiatives to tackle the crisis.