Make ecocide a crime!

Why is this important?

We've secured a huge win to protect nature. The EU has introduced rules to hold those who destroy our environment on a mass scale accountable, with penalties including fines and jail time! [2]

Now, countries must put these rules into national law within two years. But they can also make them stronger. 

These new rules are a good start but they limit the crime of ecocide to 20 specific activities. [3] This will allow those who destroy the planet to escape punishment if they just call their crimes something else. This EU law also won’t address future destructive activities based on technologies that do not exist yet.

Here’s a solution: we need our governments to pass national laws with a broad definition of ecocide instead of a fixed list of crimes. A broad definition will allow our courts to prosecute all kinds of mass-scale environmental destruction and finally hold those responsible to account. It could prevent many environmental disasters in the future!

If thousands of us join this call, our leaders will be much more likely to go beyond the minimum EU rules and pass more ambitious domestic laws that will truly protect our planet. Will you add your voice to make sure no environmental crimes go unpunished?

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