What is ecocide and could it become an international crime like genocide?

Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa — island nations particularly vulnerable to climate change — asked the International Criminal Court to make the destruction of ecosystems a crime.

By Rachel Pannett
September 10, 2024

Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa have formally asked the International Criminal Court to consider ecocide — acts that destroy the world’s ecosystems — an international crime, alongside genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

If successful, their bid could allow for the prosecutions of company leaders, or even nations, that knowingly contribute to environmental degradation. Still, some of the world’s biggest polluters — China, Russia, India and the United States — are not ICC member states and could challenge any of the court’s rulings on jurisdictional grounds.

Proponents say labeling ecocide a crime under international law would create guard rails for the world’s policymakers. “The primary goal is ultimately protective: it’s deterrence,” Jojo Mehta, co-founder of the advocacy group Stop Ecocide International, said in a news release. “Criminal law creates powerful moral as well as legal boundaries, making it clear that extreme levels of harm are not just unlawful but totally unacceptable.”

Here’s what to know about the push to crack down on environmental destruction.

What is ecocide?

Arthur Galston, an American biologist, coined the term in the 1970s. The Yale University professor campaigned to stop the use of the herbicide Agent Orange in Vietnam, where it was used to defoliate battlefields. “I thought it was a misuse of science,” he once said of the toxic herbicide, which was developed by other scientists based on his early research into plant growth regulators and has been linked to cancer and birth defects.

In the past few years, international environmental lawyers have been pushing to make ecocide a globally punishable offense. According to the proposal put to the ICC on Monday, ecocide is defined as “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.”

Acts that could count as ecocide, according to legal experts, include oil spills, the deforestation of the Amazon and fossil fuel companies knowingly emitting large amounts of greenhouse gases, which scientists have said will probably lead to major and irreversible damage to ecosystems.

“Recognition of ecocide as an international crime would be a major advance in international accountability for severe environmental harm,” Donald R. Rothwell, an expert in international law at the Australian National University, said via email. Still, he noted it “will be a long diplomatic process.”

Where is ecocide illegal?

Ecocide became a crime in Belgium earlier this year. Under the country’s criminal code, it is defined as “deliberately committing an unlawful act causing serious, widespread and long-term damage to the environment, in the knowledge that such acts cause such kind of damage.” The punishment is up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1.8 million.

The European Union recently criminalized environmental damage “comparable to ecocide.” Similar bills have been introduced in France, the Netherlands and Spain, and are under consideration in Scotland, Brazil and Mexico.

Ecocide is also included in the criminal code in places such as Russia, which has been accused of committing ecocide during the war against Ukraine — underscoring the potential difficulties in enforcing such laws.

Rothwell said there are long-standing international war crimes that relate to environmental damage during armed conflicts.

Writing in the Conversation, Filippos Proedrou, an expert on global political economy at the University of South Wales, and Maria Pournara, a criminology expert at Swansea University, said that the way ecocide is defined in the European Union and elsewhere could undermine the grounds for successful prosecution.

They added that usage of the word “wanton” with regard to acts that damage the environment “sets the bar for prosecution too high,” because defendants could escape prosecution by demonstrating that such acts were outweighed by substantive economic benefits.

Why are Pacific islands battling ecocide?

Low-lying Pacific islands nations are especially vulnerable to rising seas and more intense storms, fueled by climate change. Vanuatu spearheaded the proposal to include ecocide as a crime at the ICC in 2019.

“Environmental and climate loss and damage in Vanuatu is devastating our island economy, submerging our territory, and threatening livelihoods,” Ralph Regenvanu, Vanuatu’s special envoy for climate change and environment, said in a news release.

“Legal recognition of severe and widespread environmental harm holds significant potential to ensure justice and, crucially, to deter further destruction,” he added.