Pacific islands submit court proposal for recognition of ecocide as a crime
GuardianSep 22
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."
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.