Summary:
Brazil's proposed 'ecocide bill' has taken a crucial first step toward becoming law.
The bill was voted through by the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the Deputies Chamber of the Brazilian Congress.
Brazil is one of a growing number of states in the region who are progressing legislation aimed at criminalising the most severe harms to nature including Mexico, Argentina and Chile.
Last Wednesday, November 8th, the Environment and Sustainable Development Committee of the Deputies Chamber of the Brazilian Congress approved Bill No 2933/2023 which aims to criminalize the most serious cases of illegal or wanton destruction of the environment, known as “ecocide”. This Bill has been authored and submitted by the PSOL party and supported by a coalition or organisations including Ecoe Brasil, Climate Counsel, Observatório do Clima and Stop Ecocide International.
According to Paulo Busse, one of the lawyers who helped to draft the Ecocide Bill, “This is the first legislative step to turn ecocide into a crime in Brazil. The current Brazilian Environmental Crimes Law is not applicable to the more serious and far-reaching forms of environmental degradation and is overly dependent on administrative rules and regulations. Bill No 2933/2023 defines ecocide as ‘illegal or wanton acts with the knowledge that they generate a substantial probability of severe and widespread or long-term damage to the environment’, filling an important gap in the Brazilian legislation. If this new Brazilian ecocide law were adopted with higher penalties for perpetrators, and prosecutors were given sufficient powers to use it properly, it would likely add a powerful tool to the Brazilian prosecutors’ arsenal”.
“The new type of crime being proposed” – adds Paulo Busse – “aimed at senior managers responsible for decisions that lead to these tragedies, typifies the crime of ecocide, inserting it into the Environmental Crimes Law, with a penalty of imprisonment of 5 to 15 years and a fine for those responsible”.
Rodrigo Lledó, Americas Stop Ecocide Director and a member of the Independent Expert Panel who drafted the consensus legal definition of Ecocide said: “Once this first step is completed, we must continue working on those to come, since there is still an important path to take. Brazil is one of the most influential countries in the region and we hope its example will be followed by others. A similar bill has been proposed at the Mexican Congress and another one is being prepared in Argentina. Chile has also just approved a new economic and environmental law which includes several elements of the legal definition of ecocide formulated by the Independent Expert Panel, convened by Stop Ecocide Foundation in 2021. These efforts are important because we need to protect the environment at national and international level”.
Jojo Mehta, Co-founder and Executive Director of Stop Ecocide International praised the milestone, saying:
“This is a timely and important initial legislative step for Brazil. The Amazon, one of the most significant and endangered biomes on the planet, requires meaningful legal protection. The introduction of a new standalone crime of ecocide, designed to prevent and penalise the most severe harms against nature, would significantly contribute to providing the necessary legal safeguards. This move is essential not only for protecting the diverse ecosystems of the Amazon but also for upholding the rights of indigenous communities. There is much we can learn from these communities, not least about fostering harmonious relationships with our shared planetary home.”