The Case for an Ecocide Law

Ecocide refers to unlawful or wanton acts committed with knowledge that there is a substantial likelihood of severe and either widespread or long-term damage to the environment being caused by those acts. 

When it comes to addressing the global climate and environmental crisis, there are major multilateral environmental agreements, targets and pledges in place, such as the Paris agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals, the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Leaders’ Pledge. These are all important, and, if all were fully followed, would have remarkable results. Unfortunately, none of these are binding. This means we are in a global situation where laws pertaining to the protection of the environment are not taken seriously enough. Agricultural companies have claimed that existing regulations are often ignored because it’s cheaper not to tick the boxes and nobody is checking. A large number of corporations simply don’t really know what to do in the face of a global crisis of this scale. Something stronger is needed (such as criminal law) to provide a foundational shift in the way we think. 

Criminal law is generally thought of as a framework for punishment, creating personal criminal responsibility and prosecuting perpetrators for acts that society condemns. But criminal law is there to deter, prevent and protect. There are moments in history when society begins to recognise something as unacceptable and therefore worthy of prohibition in criminal law. If we have the courage to look, we are witnessing a similar moment right now with respect to destruction of the living world around us and the vital ecosystems that make up our common home, the Earth. For example, there has been a nearly 70% decline in wildlife since 1970, along with the apocalyptic decline of insects.