Climate Solutions Lab Postdoctoral Fellow Alexander S. Gard-Murray and co-author Watson Institute National Defense Fellow Lt Col Theodore J. Shanks created a map of U.S. military dependence on Russian fossil fuels.
The U.S. military’s dependence on fossil fuels has created a crucial security threat for its European bases. American taxpayers could inadvertently be helping to fund the Russian war effort to the tune of a million dollars a week.
We estimate that before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, U.S. bases in Europe relied on Russian fossil fuels to meet 30% of their annual energy needs. This means that American forces in Europe have been buying the energy equivalent of nearly half a million barrels of oil from Russia every year.
In light of Russia’s pending cutoffs of gas to European countries, the Department of Defense’s dependence on fossil fuels represents a serious threat to American and Western European security. Until the U.S. invests in sustainable energy sources and base electrification, these threats will continue.