‘Tantamount to Ecocide’: Council of Europe Criminalises Severe Environmental Harm

Summary

• The Council of Europe has adopted a landmark treaty - the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law - which defines and criminalises a wide range of environmental offences and establishes a legal framework for states to prosecute intentional conduct resulting in environmental disasters 'tantamount to ecocide’.

• The treaty, adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 14 May 2025, is now open for signature and will enter into force once ratified by at least 10 states (including 8 Council of Europe members [as required by Article 53(3)]), with both signature and ratification remaining voluntary for states.

• While the term 'ecocide' is not used in the operative clauses, the Convention's preamble explicitly references the term, and its provisions on 'particularly serious offences' and 'aggravating circumstances' closely reflect the 2021 definition proposed by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation.

• Adopted alongside the Convention, the Council of Europe’s five-year Environment Strategy calls for stronger enforcement, protection of environmental defenders, and better access to justice; together with the EU’s revised Environmental Crime Directive and the 2024 formal proposal by Pacific Island states to add ecocide to the Rome Statute of the ICC, this marks a third major advance within 12 months in the use of international criminal law to prevent and punish the most severe harms to the environment.

A New Legal Tool Against Severe Environmental Harm

The Council of Europe has officially adopted the Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, a new international treaty that sets out legal obligations for states to criminalise a wide range of serious environmental offences. Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 14 May 2025, the Convention is now open for signature by the Council’s 46 member states and other invited signatories. The Convention will enter into force once at least 10 states — including 8 Council of Europe members — have ratified the treaty.

The treaty defines and criminalises an array of environment-related offences and, in the words of the Council of Europe itself, ‘enables States to prosecute intentional conduct resulting in environmental disasters tantamount to ecocide’.

Key Provisions and Legal Innovations

The Convention establishes minimum legal standards for defining and prosecuting environmental crime in national legal systems. It covers crimes such as unlawful pollution, destruction of ecosystems, illegal waste trafficking, and severe habitat deterioration. It also introduces the notion of “particularly serious offences” for acts that result in irreversible, long-lasting, or widespread environmental damage  -  language that aligns closely with the 2021 definition of ecocide proposed by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation.

While the term "ecocide" does not appear in the operative articles of the Convention, its inclusion in the preamble and the framing of "particularly serious offences" make the treaty the most explicit acknowledgment yet of the concept in a binding European legal instrument. The treaty also outlines aggravating factors, such as when offences cause long-term or irreversible damage to ecosystems, further reinforcing this alignment.

The Convention mandates the introduction of penalties for corporate offenders, including fines, disqualification from commercial activity, and judicial orders for environmental restoration. It also includes protections for environmental human rights defenders and whistleblowers, as well as provisions for public access to information and participation in environmental decision-making.

Not Automatically Binding: What Happens Next?

The Convention is not self-executing. States must first choose to sign it, signalling political support and a commitment to alignment. Ratification through domestic procedures is required for it to become legally binding within a country. Some countries may move quickly to sign and ratify, while others may be slower to act or opt out entirely. Continued public and civil society advocacy will play a key role in encouraging widespread uptake and effective implementation.

Part of a Broader Environmental Strategy

The new treaty is a centrepiece of the Council of Europe’s broader Environment Strategy 2025–2030, also adopted by the Committee of Ministers this week. The Strategy outlines five key objectives, including Objective 4: preventing and prosecuting environment-related crimes.

The Strategy explicitly calls for ratification of the Convention, improved access to justice, stronger legal accountability for environmental harm, and enhanced protections for environmental defenders. It situates environmental protection as fundamental to the enjoyment of human rights and democratic integrity.

A Global Shift Toward Accountability

The adoption of this Convention represents the third major international advance in environmental criminal law within the last 12 months, following the revision of the EU Environmental Crime Directive, which now includes provisions for ‘conduct comparable to ecocide’, and a formal proposal to the International Criminal Court led by Pacific Island states calling for ecocide to be added to the Rome Statute. This trajectory marks a clear shift from voluntary safeguards to enforceable international norms aimed at preventing, deterring, and prosecuting the most severe environmental harms.

Jojo Mehta, CEO and Co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, said:

“By criminalising environmental destruction "tantamount to ecocide," this treaty marks a historic moment in environmental law. It recognises that mass harm to nature is not simply a regulatory lapse  -  it is a crime worthy of prosecution. The Convention may now serve as a model for global reform, with implications far beyond Europe.

"We can no longer be in any doubt that our relationship to nature is changing and that our legal frameworks are recalibrating to account for this, in turn helping to embed a new and necessary awareness of responsibility for the living world upon which we wholly depend. 

"Let us encourage states not only to sign and ratify this important Convention, but also to recognise that severe and widespread or long-term environmental harm - ecocide - must always be prohibited as a serious crime, even if the precise manner of its commission isn’t detailed in this Convention. The logic is inescapable, as is our enmeshment with the ecosystems that sustain us.”

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The full text of the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law is available here, and the Council of Europe Environment Strategy 2025–2030 can be read here.