The Pacific states of Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa want to class ecocide - large-scale environmental destruction - as a crime that could be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) alongside offences such as war crimes and genocide.
Suffering some of the worst effects of climate change, the island nations submitted a proposal to the ICC in September to recognise ecocide, which could allow for the prosecution of heads of state or bosses of large polluting companies.
With 2024 the warmest year on record and the costs of multiple climate change-related disasters spiralling, environmentalists say the push for ecocide to be internationally recognised as a crime marks a milestone in the fight to protect the natural systems human life depends on.
Here’s what you need to know.
What is ecocide?
Ecocide is broadly defined as any unlawful act that causes widespread, long-term and severe destruction of the environment.
The term was first used to describe the environmental devastation caused in Vietnam by the US military’s use of “Agent Orange”, a toxic herbicide that continues to pollute rivers and land.
Several rights activists and observers have also cited the damaging environmental impact of ongoing conflict in Gaza and Ukraine as examples of ecocide.
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Adding an untested international crime to the jurisdiction of the ICC – I’m afraid we may get disappointments. It’s not an easy crime to prove and to assemble evidence.
Wouters, professor, Leuven University in Belgium
When committed repeatedly over decades, ecocide can be considered a cause of “the climate and ecological emergency facing humanity”, according to Stop Ecocide International, a non-profit leading calls for ecocide to be recognised as an international crime.
Where is ecocide already a crime?
Ecocide is a crime in 12 countries including Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russia and Ukraine. This year, Belgium became the first European country to recognise ecocide both internationally and domestically.
Italy, Finland, Denmark, Brazil, Peru, and Mexico have opened discussions on adding ecocide to their criminal codes.
During wartime, ecological crimes can be prosecuted under Article 8 of the ICC’s Rome Statute, which prohibits the launching of an attack in the knowledge it will cause “widespread, long-term and severe damage to the natural environment”.
Ukraine is currently collecting evidence and building legal cases against Russia in the ICC over environmental damage stemming from Moscow’s 2022 invasion and seizure of the Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plants.
Why is ecocide not a crime worldwide?
Making ecocide an international crime would require establishing a new law or amending the ICC’s Rome Statute, as the three Pacific island states are trying to do.
It would need a two-thirds majority among the 124 countries that have ratified the treaty.
However, the complex nature of environmental crimes could make ecocide difficult to prosecute, legal experts say.
While cases involving pollution related to an oil spill or industrial development might be easier to prosecute, it could be difficult to identify individuals deemed responsible for disasters caused by climate change.
Securing convictions could be even more challenging, said Jan Wouters, a professor of international law at Leuven University in Belgium.
“Adding an untested international crime to the jurisdiction of the ICC - I’m afraid we may get disappointments,” Wouters told Context. “It’s not an easy crime to prove and to assemble evidence.”
Is an international law the best way to stop ecocide?
Legal experts question whether ecocide should be an international crime tried by the ICC, pointing to the court’s chequered history on converting prosecutions into convictions, as well as high costs and long delays.
National legislation allowing ecocide prosecutions might be a better first step before pursuing an international law, said Wouters.
The ICC is also limited to prosecuting crimes within the 124 states that have ratified the Rome Statute. Several major powers have not ratified it, including China, India, the United States and Russia – all major emitters of greenhouse gases.
According to a UN study, the number of climate change court cases has doubled since 2017, indicating that litigation is a growing form of environmental activism.
This story was published with permission from Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit https://www.context.news/.
