FROM WAR, NATIONALISMS AND FOSSIL FUELS TO GLOBAL PEACE, JUSTICE AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Georgios Emmanouil

Representative of Naturefriends Greece in International Peace Bureau

Since the creation of the United Nations in 1945, humanity has never faced such interrelated and existential challenges. The climate crisis, the uncontrolled development of artificial intelligence, competition for the control of energy resources and their routes, the concentration of wealth in the hands of a global and unaccountable economic elite, the spread of nuclear weapons, and the return of large-scale regional wars form an unprecedented explosive mixture, dangerous for the very survival of humanity.

Instead of multilateral peaceful cooperation, the world is being driven into a new era of militarization. Military spending has risen to historic highs, as recorded by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, exceeding 2 trillion dollars annually. This enormous waste of resources does not enhance security; on the contrary, it fuels conflicts, widens inequalities, and accelerates environmental destruction.

Humanity stands at a historic crossroads: either it will continue down the path of wars and destruction, or it will choose cooperation, peace, and sustainable development.

Peaceful coexistence or global destabilization

The peaceful coexistence of states is not a romantic ideal; it is the only realistic strategy for the survival of human civilization. In a world where crises are global and interdependent, no country can survive in isolation.

The principle of common security must replace the logic of military superiority. Security cannot be based on weapons, but on:

• social justice
• economic equality
• environmental sustainability
• international, multilateral cooperation

The continuation of militarization leads to a vicious circle of fear, rivalries, and conflicts.

Iran: Energy, geopolitics and war

The confrontation and aggression of Israel and the United States—raising serious issues of violation of international law—first in the Palestinian Gaza and the West Bank and now against Iran and Lebanon, are not simply regional conflicts. They are directly linked to the control of energy resources and geopolitical balances, while often using nationalism and religious fundamentalisms as ideological vehicles.

Dependence on:

• oil
• natural gas
• fossil fuels

feeds conflicts and tensions. As long as the world remains trapped in this energy model, wars will continue to reproduce themselves.

The answer is not military, but profoundly political and energy-related. A just and universal green transition can drastically reduce conflicts and lay the foundations for peace:

• phasing out fossil fuels
• transitioning to renewable energy sources
• implementing the Paris Agreement for climate neutrality by 2050
• respecting international law and the UN principles of peaceful coexistence

Ukraine: A war without winners

The war in Ukraine is one of the most dangerous conflicts of the modern era. It is not only a territorial conflict with strong nationalist features; it is also a conflict of geopolitical interests and energy routes.

The reality is harsh:
there is no military solution, and there is no “victory” without destruction.

The continuation of the war:

• reinforces dependence on armaments
• deepens geopolitical polarization
• increases the risk of nuclear escalation

At the same time, it highlights the need to break free from fossil fuels.

Peace in Ukraine requires:

• active diplomacy by the EU and a new common security architecture in Europe, with the participation of all, including Ukraine and Russia
• acceleration of the energy transition
• gradual demilitarization and the transfer of resources to sustainable development

NATO and the new arms race

The expansion of NATO and the revival of the logic of military blocs intensify tensions rather than reduce them.

The new arms race:

• increases the risk of a wider spread of conflicts
• absorbs enormous resources from social needs and sustainable development and channels them into military armaments and the military-industrial complex

Global security cannot be based on military alliances, but on a system of collective security under the United Nations.

Nuclear weapons: The ultimate threat

The existence of nuclear weapons constitutes the greatest existential threat to humanity. Thousands of nuclear warheads remain on operational alert.

However, the international environment is deteriorating. The expiration of the New START Treaty between the United States and Russia, without a successor agreement, leaves for the first time in decades the two largest nuclear powers without any legally binding limits on their strategic nuclear arsenals.

At the same time, the international community is preparing for the First Review Meeting of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in the autumn of 2026, a development that makes a clear position by all states necessary.

The TPNW is the most modern, complementary, and legally binding treaty of the United Nations on nuclear weapons. It has already been signed by 99 states and constitutes the only international legal framework that fully prohibits nuclear weapons, as is already the case with chemical and biological weapons.

What is required is:

• global Institutional control
• gradual nuclear disarmament
• the strengthening and universal implementation of international treaties

The United Nations must play a central role in this process.

From weapons to sustainable development

The United Nations itself has repeatedly called for:

• a reduction in armaments
• the redirection of resources toward:
  • the fight against hunger
  • sustainable development

In a world where hundreds of millions of people live in poverty, military waste is not only ineffective, but morally unacceptable.

Reforming the United Nations: Democracy and multilateralism

The United Nations remains trapped in an outdated system of power.

What is needed is:

• limiting the veto power of powerful states
• strengthening the General Assembly
• greater representation of the Global South
• strengthening the participation of civil society

The democratic reform of the United Nations is a precondition for a just and peaceful world.

Conclusion: Another world is necessary and possible

Humanity cannot continue along the path of wars and destruction.

We need:

• peace everywhere
• multilateral cooperation
• ecological transition
• social justice

A world where security will not be based on fear, but on cooperation.
A world where resources will serve life and not war.

This world is not a utopia. It is an urgent historical necessity.

A strong global peace movement of democratic organizations and active citizens is essential for the revitalization of multilateral institutions and the United Nations, as well as for the prevention of wars and the building of a world of peace and sustainable development for all.

Georgios Emmanouil

Representative of Naturefriends Greece in International Peace Bureau https://emmanouilreview.eu/