Vanuatu, Fiji and Samoa — island nations particularly vulnerable to climate change — asked the International Criminal Court to make the destruction of ecosystems a crime.
September 10, 2024 at 1:46 a.m. EDT
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.
Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/09/10/ecocide-law-crime-genocide-icc/
