The war has produced more planet-warming gases than the annual emissions of 20 countries...
The UK-based Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences, which includes Üsküdar University and the core team that prepared the "Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth", published the "Gaza Declaration". Noting that one of the deadliest and most destructive bombings of modern warfare is the pollution it causes in air, soil and water, the statement noted that the war produces more planet-warming gases than the annual emissions of 20 climate-sensitive countries.
Üsküdar University Environmental Ethics Forum Director Prof. İbrahim Özdemir stated that as Üsküdar University Environmental Ethics Forum, they shared the statement published about Israel's destruction of all living species, climate, and environment as well as the humanitarian tragedy caused in Gaza.
Director of the Üsküdar University Environmental Ethics Forum Prof. İbrahim Özdemir evaluated the Gaza Declaration shared by the UK-based Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES/EcoIslam).
The UK-based foundation is investigating how Islamic teachings can be linked to environmental protection
Prof. İbrahim Özdemir stated that the UK-based Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences is one of the first organizations in the Islamic world to carry out studies to develop environmental awareness and sustainable living practices and noted that the foundation searches that how Islamic teachings can be associated with environmental protection and ecological balance and organizes training and awareness-raising programs on this subject.
Explaining that the Foundation aims to increase both social and environmental welfare by combining religious and scientific approaches to ecological problems with its activities, Prof. İbrahim Özdemir also reminded that the Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences took part in the core team that prepared the "Al-Mizan: A Covenant for the Earth " together with Üsküdar University.
In addition to the humanitarian tragedy it has caused in Gaza, Israel is also destroying the climate and the environment
Prof. İbrahim Özdemir stated that as Üsküdar University Environmental Ethics Forum, they shared the statement published on Israel's destruction of all living species, climate, and environment as well as the humanitarian tragedy it caused in Gaza and said that "The Islamic Foundation for Ecology and Environmental Sciences (IFEES/EcoIslam) shares our grief and sorrow for the great damage caused to people, climate, and nature in Gaza every day."
The Gaza statement pointed to Israel's relentless attacks over the past 100 days
Stating that most of the critical global risks facing humanity are linked to the triple planetary crises defined by the United Nations (UN) as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the Gaza statement drew attention to the following issues:
"For residents of Gaza and the West Bank, Israel's relentless attacks over the past 100 days have multiplied the volume of these risks. The destruction of their habitat deprives Palestinian farmers and fishermen of their livelihoods."
The pollution of air, soil and water caused by one of the deadliest and most destructive bombings of modern warfare is now leading to an interconnected climate, environment, and health crisis. Lack of access to clean water, breathable air and healthy sanitation is a catalyst for the spread of disease, disability, and death.
The destruction of their habitat deprives Palestinian farmers and fishermen of their livelihoods. The climate impacts of this war, including the costs of post-conflict reconstruction, must be calculated."
"This war has produced more planet-warming gases than the annual emissions of 20 climate-sensitive countries"
According to a recent study, this war produced more planet-warming gases than the annual emissions of 20 climate-sensitive countries, the statement stated that "The study estimates that Israel's aerial bombardment and military intervention accounted for more than 99 percent of the 281,000 tons of carbon dioxide emitted in the first 60 days of the conflict. This is equivalent to burning at least 150 thousand tons of coal. During the same period, Hamas rockets fired at Israel produced an estimated 713 tons, or carbon dioxide equivalent to burning 300 tons of coal. Given the magnitude of the devastation caused by this war, all indications are that the climate cost of post-conflict reconstruction will be enormous."
Mapping the damage caused by the war
Mapping the damage caused by the war, experts found that Israel's bombardment of densely populated areas in Gaza in early December 2023had already exceeded the damage caused by the Allies' bombardments of Cologne and Dresden during the Second World War.
"More than 65,000 houses have been destroyed and 290,000 have been damaged by shelling and clashes according to The Guardian's report, citing the UN,. To put this in context, this is equivalent to the destruction of more than 600,000 homes in 90 days in a city the size of Glasgow or Bristol, England.
As the world witnesses the devastation caused by thousand-pound bombs dropped on densely populated residential areas, it may suggest that the damage is only done to the men, women and children who live in them, and that environmental pollution is less visible."
"The human costs are huge and increasing"
Noting that the human costs are very high and increasing, it is said in the statement "In the first 95 days, more than 23 thousand deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 50 thousand seriously injured were reported. An estimated 7,000 people are missing and presumed dead, their bodies have not yet been recovered from under the rubble. Israel has forcibly displaced more than 1.2 million people. It also denied access to adequate food, water, and medicine, condemning 2.2 million civilians to starvation. While all this is happening in plain sight, powerful states are ignoring and even obstructing the implementation of international humanitarian law.”
What is the damage to the climate and the environment?
The declaration also drew attention to climate and environmental casualties and emphasized the following:
"The climatic and environmental legacy of this war in the occupied Palestinian territories is clearly another casualty of the war and will have generational implications for a nation living in one of the world's most climate-vulnerable regions. The truth is that every single one of us living on this planet will have our share of this damage. Humanity can choose to live in balance and harmony with the planet, or we can make choices that cause great harm to people, the land, the air, the seas, and all the living beings with whom we share our world. As IFEES/EcoIslam, we add our voice to those who call for an immediate cessation of the war in the occupied Palestinian territories and urgent action for a peaceful, just, and sustainable world. IFEES/EcoIslam hereby calls on citizens and governments to:
A call to citizens and governments...
• I Immediate provision of access to safe and adequate supply of water, sanitation, food and fuel needed to ensure social, economic and environmental health and wellbeing;
• Actions to halt widespread water and air pollution that is fuelling disease and illness and the prevention of further climate and environmental harm;
• Cessation of efforts to ethnically cleanse and relocate Palestinian people, occupying and seizing their land and other assets, effectively cutting off their connections to the land and seas they depend upon;
• Equitable application of international law, without fear or favour, to bring about peace and sustainability in the swiftest means. To reduce the human misery and the climate and environmental impact which this, and all conflicts, produce;
• Reconstruction and restoration efforts, that address the climate and environmental impact of this war on the land, water and seas which form the bedrock of the economy and ecology in Palestine; and,
• The calamity of innocent lives lost is obvious to all of humanity. What is less obvious is the environmental destruction and long-term climate harm created by this war. War has always had a visible human, material and financial cost. We now have the knowledge and understanding to shine a light on the hidden costs: the climate and environmental impacts of war that imperil the future of people and of the planet.
" As IFEES/EcoIslam we seek to make more citizens aware that the immediate human misery is compounded by the insidious and long-term effects of the climate and environmental destruction being wreaked by wars, literally thrown up into the air by bombs and acquiescence by those who are in a position to influence outcomes. We call for peace, justice and sustainability for Palestine now!”
Please click here for the statement.
Üsküdar News Agency (ÜNA)