War and the Environment is a six-week online course developed by World BEYOND War that explores how war, preparations for war, and militarism affect the climate and environment — and what can be done to reduce these harms and build more peaceful and sustainable alternatives.
Much discussion about climate change and security asks how environmental pressures may contribute to conflict. This course looks at the relationship from another angle: what do war, preparations for war, and militarism do to the climate and environment?
War’s environmental footprint extends far beyond the battlefield. It begins before fighting starts through military infrastructure, weapons production, training, extraction, energy and resource use, and can continue long afterwards through contamination, destroyed infrastructure, unexploded weapons, displacement, reconstruction, and long-term ecological damage.
The course also invites a wider, world-centred perspective on peace, asking participants to consider how war affects people, places, ecosystems, other living beings, and the wider conditions that sustain life.
A key question running through the course is:
What changes when war and militarism are understood as part of the climate and ecological problem, rather than environmental harm being treated as an unfortunate side effect of war?
The course is periodically offered by World BEYOND War as a facilitated online course. It is also available to universities, schools, educators, and organisations interested in using the course. Contact World BEYOND War for further information.
Explore World BEYOND War’s other education programmes and courses.
Course Modules
Throughout the six-week online course, you will explore the following topics:
Week 1: Where Wars Happen and Why
Explore where wars happen and why they happen. Examine how political, economic, strategic, environmental, and resource-related factors interact with armed conflict, and critically consider claims about the relationships between climate change, environmental pressures, resources, and war.
Week 2: What Wars Do to the Earth
Examine the consequences of armed conflict for land, water, air, ecosystems, biodiversity, human health, livelihoods, and other living beings. Consider immediate destruction alongside environmental, social, and intergenerational harms that can continue long after fighting has ended.
Week 3: Preparing for War: The Environmental Costs of Militarism
Look beyond active war zones to examine environmental harm associated with preparing for war, including military bases and training, weapons production and testing, military supply chains, land use, energy and resource consumption, pollution, toxic substances, and contamination.
Week 4: Nuclear Weapons, People and the Planet
Explore the environmental and human consequences of nuclear weapons across their lifecycle — from uranium extraction and weapons production to testing, deployment, radioactive contamination, waste, continuing environmental legacies, and the potential consequences of future nuclear war.
Week 5: How War’s Environmental Costs Are Hidden and Sustained
Examine why many environmental consequences of war and militarism remain poorly understood, underreported, weakly regulated, or absent from public debate. Explore military secrecy, environmental and emissions reporting, law and accountability, political and economic interests, and dominant ideas about security.
Week 6: What Can Be Done?
Explore ways to prevent and reduce environmental harm, strengthen monitoring and accountability, support recovery, advance demilitarisation and policy change, and build more peaceful and sustainable alternatives. Consider opportunities for stronger cooperation between peace, anti-war, climate, environmental, and environmental justice movements.
How You Learn
The course is fully online and designed for flexible participation. Weekly materials combine text, images, video, audio, examples and case studies, reflective questions, peer-to-peer discussion, and optional assignments.
Facilitated editions of the course are supported by facilitators with relevant knowledge and experience. Optional live sessions may also provide opportunities for discussion, reflection, and exchange.
How deeply you engage is up to you.
What You Will Explore
The course is designed to help participants:
- Understand how war and militarism affect the environment before, during, and after armed conflict
- Examine impacts on people, communities, ecosystems, other living beings, places, and future generations
- Explore connections between war, militarism, climate change, resources, colonialism, imperialism, inequality, and environmental justice
- Critically examine relationships between climate change and conflict, including how environmental challenges can become militarised
- Understand why many environmental costs of war and militarism remain hidden, underreported, weakly regulated, or normalised
- Explore responses ranging from prevention, protection, monitoring, accountability, and recovery to demilitarisation, policy change, and cooperation between peace and environmental movements
- Connect learning with your own work, organisation, community, or context
Who Is the Course For?
This course is for people who want to better understand the connections between war, militarism, climate change, environmental destruction, peace, and sustainability.
It is particularly relevant for:
- Peace and anti-war organisers
- Climate, environmental, and environmental justice activists
- Educators and facilitators
- Campaigners, advocates, and communicators
- Researchers, students, practitioners, and policymakers
- Civil society organisations, grassroots movements, and engaged citizens
No prior specialist knowledge is required.
Whether you are new to these issues or already active in the field, the course offers opportunities to deepen your understanding, encounter perspectives from different parts of the world, make connections across fields, and connect learning with action.
Time Commitment
How much time you spend and how deeply you engage is up to you. During facilitated editions, participants can generally expect to spend approximately 3–6 hours per week, including:
- Reviewing weekly materials: approximately 1–2 hours
- Participating in discussions: approximately 1–2 hours
- Completing optional assignments: approximately 1–2 hours
Why This Course?
War, militarism, climate change, environmental destruction, and environmental justice are often addressed through separate fields, movements, and policy conversations. This course brings them into conversation.
By examining environmental harm before, during, and after armed conflict, the course helps participants see connections that can otherwise remain fragmented or overlooked. It also explores opportunities for stronger cooperation between peace, anti-war, climate, environmental, and environmental justice movements working towards more peaceful, just, and sustainable societies.
Why World BEYOND War?
World BEYOND War is a global movement working to abolish the institution of war and replace it with a more peaceful, just, and sustainable global security system.
Education is a core part of this work. World BEYOND War develops courses, resources, research, and learning opportunities that help people understand war as a system, examine its consequences, explore nonviolent alternatives, and connect learning with action.
War and the Environment brings this anti-war perspective into conversation with climate, ecological, and environmental justice concerns. The course draws on research, practice, case studies, and contributions from educators, researchers, practitioners, and activists working across these fields.
Certificate of Completion
Participants taking part in a facilitated edition of the course can receive a certificate of completion by completing the weekly assignments.
Assignments are optional for participants who do not require a certificate. Details about assignments, facilitator engagement, and certificate requirements are provided at the beginning of each facilitated course.