Pacific islands submit court proposal for recognition of ecocide as a crime
GuardianAUG 23 2024
Pacific Island Nations Submit ICC 'Ecocide' Proposal
Above: Suega Apelu stands in the lagoon on November 28, 2019 in Funafuti, Tuvalu. Image copyright: Mario Tama/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images
The Facts
On Monday, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa presented a court proposal to the International Criminal Court (ICC), requesting the classification of environmental destruction, or "ecocide," as a crime on par with war crimes and genocide.
According to the proposal, ecocide is defined in the proposal 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."
Vanuatu was reportedly the first nation to request the ICC ecocide designation in 2019. According to the country's special envoy for climate change, Ralp Regenvanu, legal recognition of ecocide is an important step towards justice and deterring further environmental destruction.
The Spin
Narrative A
Ecocide, the destruction of nature, should be a global crime. An ICC designation would enable the Paris Agreement to force nations to reduce emissions. A global climate emergency would require nations to modify laws — existing regulations won't save the planet. For Pacific Island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa ecocide is an ever-present and existential threat — countries on the front lines of environmental crisis especially deserve a legal recourse.
Narrative B
"Ecocide" comes from a long tradition of climate change and environmental alarmism, dating to the hyperbolic "eco-catastrophe" rhetoric of the late 1960s. It's one thing to discuss some common-sense adaptation approaches to a changing environment, but it's a slippery slope to indulge in apocalyptic environmental catastrophizing that has real legal and policy implications. It's far more effective to go down a path of thoughtful analysis and pragmatic solutions.
Metaculus Prediction
The Controversies
Articles on this story
Sign Up for Our Free NewslettersSign Up for Our Free Newsletters
Sign Up!
Sign Up Now!