MISSILES, DRONES AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS: ASSESSING THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF MODERN WARFARE UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW

Abstract

This article interrogates the environmental and climate consequences of modern warfare 
technologies, with particular focus on the deployment of missiles and drones in contemporary 
armed conflicts. While international humanitarian law (IHL) recognizes the need to protect the 
natural environment during hostilities, its existing framework remains limited and ill-equipped to address the cumulative and long-term environmental harm associated with technologically 
advanced warfare. The article identifies a critical doctrinal gap: the environmental effects of 
missile strikes and drone operations, including greenhouse gas emissions, toxic contamination, 
and ecological disruption, are rarely incorporated into legal assessments of military necessity or proportionality. Drawing on reports from recent conflicts involving large-scale attacks on 
industrial and energy infrastructure, it demonstrates how contemporary warfare contributes to 
environmental degradation and intensifies the global climate crisis. Adopting a doctrinal 
methodology, supplemented by empirical evidence, the article evaluates the adequacy of IHL, 
international environmental law, and climate law in regulating wartime environmental harm. It argues that existing legal thresholds, particularly the requirement of ―widespread, long-term and severe‖ damage, set an unrealistically high bar, effectively shielding most environmentally harmful military conduct from legal scrutiny. The article concludes that, although international law contains relevant principles, it lacks coherence and effective integration across regimes. It advocates a recalibration of existing frameworks through a more flexible interpretation of proportionality, the systematic inclusion of environmental considerations in military decision making, and greater transparency in reporting military emissions. Such reforms are necessary to ensure that international law remains responsive to the environmental realities of modern warfare.