Jojo Mehta on Adding Ecocide to International Crimes List

The Need for Ecocide Law

• 💡 Ecocide is defined as the most serious harms to nature and vital ecosystems, aiming to be recognized as a serious crime.
• 🎯 Current environmental regulations are deemed inadequate to address the deterioration of biodiversity and the climate crisis.
• 🧠 Criminal law is seen as a powerful systemic lever to shift perspectives on our interdependence with the natural world and establish what is acceptable.

Accountability and Deterrence

• ⚖️ Holding individuals accountable for severe environmental damage through criminal law has significant deterrent potential compared to regulatory law.
• 💰 When corporate leaders consider their reputation and freedom, they will more carefully consider decisions leading to severe harm, impacting stock value.
• 🏦 It is not legal to insure or financially support crimes, which can help redirect financial flows away from destructive practices.

Global Legal Developments

• 🌍 Stop Ecocide International has worked towards adding ecocide to the list of international crimes at the International Criminal Court.
• 📜 In 2021, a panel of lawyers drafted a consensus legal definition of ecocide, which has spurred developments at international, national, and regional levels.
• 🇧🇪 Belgium was the first country to adopt ecocide as an international crime within its federal law.
• 🇪🇺 The EU Environmental Crime Directive includes a qualified offense comparable to ecocide, appearing for the first time in EU law.
• 🌍 A Council of Europe convention includes a section on particularly serious offenses effectively addressing ecocide.
• 🏝️ Several states, including Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, are actively proposing an amendment to add ecocide to the list of crimes at the International Criminal Court.

Legal Avenues for Environmental Protection

• 🌊 The UN Ocean Summit has seen concrete outcomes, such as the announcement of the largest marine protected area and growing momentum towards the enforcement of the BBJ high seas treaty.
• ⚖️ The world is increasingly turning to legal avenues for environmental protection, with international criminal law focusing on individuals rather than just states.
• 🏢 This focus on individuals, including those in the corporate world, is key to addressing the horrific collateral damage and preventable disasters caused by business activities.