Summary
New bill to criminalise ‘ecocide’ submitted to Italian Parliament.
Bill proposed by Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance).
Parliamentary debate and votes to take place in coming months.
Following recent constitutional reform, new ecocide bill set to further bolster Italy’s legislative commitment to environmental protection.
Italy joins the EU, Mexico, Brazil, the Netherlands, Scotland, Spain (Catalunya), and Belgium in having ecocide bills at various stages of proposal.
Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra (Greens and Left Alliance), supported by Stop Ecocidio Italia and Stop Ecocide International, has submitted a bill aimed at preventing and criminalising ecocide to the Italian Parliament.
The proposed bill, which is directly based on the wording of the legal definition of ecocide formulated by the Independent Expert Panel convened by the Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021, has been formally submitted to parliament, with debate and votes due to take place in the coming months.
The proposed bill was launched at a press conference in Rome on the 12th September in the Italian Parliament building (Palazzo Montecitorio) and featured Filiberto Zaratti (proposing the bill), Angelo Bonelli, co-spokesperson of Europa Verde, Luana Zanella, Alleanza Verdi e Sinistra group leader, as well as Jojo Mehta, co-founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International and Dani Spizzichino, Founder and campaign manager, Stop Ecocidio Italia.
In February 2002 the Italian Parliament made a landmark decision to enshrine environmental protection in its constitution. If successfully adopted, the newly proposed ecocide bill, which would criminalise ‘severe and either widespread or long-term damage’ to nature, looks set to further strengthen Italy’s legislative commitment to protecting the natural environment.
Jojo Mehta, co-Founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International, said:
"This is hugely exciting news from Italy. Legal recognition of ecocide is rapidly becoming seen as a necessary step in national parliaments around the world.
“In recent months ecocide bills have been proposed or progressed in the EU, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain (Catalunya) and Mexico. Leaders across the globe are clearly beginning to wake up to the very real dangers we face, and a strong legislative direction of travel is emerging.
“The momentum we are seeing is keeping ecocide high up the global agenda. It is only a matter of time until we see legal protection against severe and widespread or long-term environmental harm recognised by the International Criminal Court.”
Dani Spizzichino, Founder and Campaign Manager, Stop Ecocidio Italia, said:
“This proposed bill presents Italy with an unprecedented opportunity to outlaw practices that cause widespread environmental harm.
“If adopted, Italy will be able to stand proudly alongside the scores of other thought-leading nations who have already established domestic ecocide legislation.
“Each new ecocide bill sends a signal to the world that there is genuine political and cultural appetite for meaningful legal environmental action and it’s time to get on board.
“I have no doubt that the recent wave of domestic and regional ecocide proposals hints at the very real likelihood that we’ll see international recognition of the crime of ecocide very soon. I am deeply proud that Italy may well play a central role in achieving this necessary goal.”