Vanuatu, Fiji, and Samoa have submitted a proposal to the International Criminal Court (ICC) this week, requesting that ecocide be recognised as a crime. Ecocide refers to severe and widespread environmental harm, such as massive oil spills or deforestation, caused by unlawful actions. Vanuatu first called for ecocide to be included as a crime at the ICC in 2019, and the proposal is co-sponsored by Fiji and Samoa.
The proposal asks the ICC to amend its Rome Statute to include ecocide, based on a definition from the Stop Ecocide Foundation. If accepted, individuals responsible for environmental destruction could be held criminally accountable, similar to those who commit genocide or war crimes.
This push for legal recognition reflects a growing movement to treat severe environmental damage with the same seriousness as other major international crimes. If successful, it could lead to the prosecution of corporate and political leaders responsible for large-scale environmental harm.
However, major greenhouse gas emitters like the US, Russia, and China are not members of the ICC, which limits the court’s reach.
