War, Iran & the Climate

In this episode we confront escalating war involving Iran, the United States, Israel, and other nations, and expose its rarely discussed climate dimension: war as a massive “hidden super‑emitter” of greenhouse gases. Herb Simmens is joined by climate lawyer Dan Galpern, climate scientist Paul Beckwith, and physician and climate expert Peter Carter to unpack how military operations, from bombing to rebuilding, drive a surge in emissions while deepening global instability.

This video was recorded on March 11th, 2026, and published on March 15th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

Dan explains why the current conflict is illegal under both international and US law and links this lawlessness to the Trump administration’s unilateral move to withdraw the United States from the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the world’s core climate treaty. Paul and Peter then widen the lens, describing how fossil‑fuel militarism, water scarcity in Iran, and a global belief in war feed a vicious cycle that accelerates climate breakdown, heightens nuclear risk, and pushes the Doomsday Clock closer than ever to midnight.

Yet the conversation also highlights pathways for action. Dan emphasizes using democratic tools—War Powers resolutions, petitions, protests, and legal challenges—to resist unlawful war and keep the US in the global climate regime, while Peter defines genuine hope as courageous engagement rather than passive optimism. In the closing “Climate Three,” Herb spotlights China’s new five‑year plan, surprising differences between Alaskan and Canadian wildfire impacts, and a bold ocean alkalinity experiment off Massachusetts that removed carbon and hints at future climate repair strategies.

Links:

• Support Our Mission

• Sign the Remain In the UNFCCC Petition

• Climate Protection & Restoriation Initiative

• Illegally All Around: Whither the U.N. Climate Treaty?

• No First Use

• Charter of the United Nations

• War Powers Act of 1941

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• The Unites States’ Unconventional withdrawal from the UNFCCC

• Why Tehran is Running Out of Water

• The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, Money and Power

• Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists

• Utopia or Oblivion: The Prospects for Humanity

• Protest and Survive

• AI Data Centers: The New Climate Threat (CEF Video)

• Rising CO2 Could Be Altering Our Blood Chemistry, Study Suggests

• What does China’s 15th ‘five-year plan’ mean for climate change?

• Alaskan Wildfires Warm Climate While Canadian Fires Cool It

• Preliminary results from the first EPA-permitted ocean alkalinity enhancement (OAE) field trial

Special Guests

• Dan Galpern - is founder, executive director, and general counsel to Climate Protection & Restoration Initiative, a US nonprofit organization. He has served as legal and policy adviser to climate scientist Dr. James Hansen since 2011. Prior to the law, Dan worked for 20 years as a public interest analyst and advocate for human rights and global security.

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University

• Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: crowander.com

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions