Summary
Public consultation on new Ecocide bill launched in Scottish parliament by Monica Lennon MSP.
Bill would make Scotland first UK nation to criminalize ecocide.
Consultation runs until February 9th 2024 as is open to respondents from across the world.
Monica Lennon MSP has lodged proposals for a Members’ Bill in the Scottish Parliament asking people to support an ecocide prevention law that could see big polluters jailed for between 10 and 20 years.
A public consultation launched today (Wednesday 8 November) seeks the public’s views on plans to make Scotland the first UK nation to criminalise ecocide. The proposed new law would include substantial sanctions designed to deter individuals in the positions of power from making decisions that directly result in the most severe cases of environmental harm.
Under Lennon’s proposals, Scotland would emerge as a world-leader in the fast-growing campaign to establish new domestic and international ecocide crimes globally.
The Ecocide Law movement was the passion project of late Scottish barrister Polly Higgins. The proposed new laws are a response to ineffective existing environmental regulation which does not adequately deter the worst polluters. A new standalone crime of ecocide would target the most harmful acts against the environment and for the first time allow the courts to pursue individual decision makers at the highest level of government and business.
Monica Lennon, whose history-making first Members’ Bill led to the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act, commented:
“Protecting Scotland’s nature from destruction must be at the top of everyone’s agenda but right now we don’t have a strong enough deterrent to stop the big polluters.
“We must stop eco-criminals in their tracks, and ecocide law is the crime deterrent that our planet urgently needs. Under my proposals, Scotland will be the first country in the UK to make ecocide a crime and the tough sanctions in the consultation could see those who threaten our planet put in jail for between 10 and 20 years.
“The aim is to prevent the worst harm to our planet from happening in the first place and to do so we need much tougher laws and enforcement. I’m pleased to be launching this public consultation today and welcome views from people from all communities, sectors and perspectives.”
Jojo Mehta, Executive Director and Co-founder of Stop Ecocide International said:
“This is a pioneering step from Scotland and one that will be noticed across the globe.
“We currently lack national and international legal mechanisms to shield us from the most severe harms to nature. Today, Scotland has emerged as a global leader in addressing this legal gap by embarking on the journey to establish criminal laws that genuinely protect both people and the planet.
“In recent months, ecocide bills have been proposed or advanced in the EU, Brazil, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain (Catalunya), and Mexico. Today, Scotland is joining these forward-thinking nations in taking meaningful, practical steps to address the very real threats we face as a species."
Chair of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland and Chief Executive of the Royal Scottish Geological Society, Mike Robinson commented:
"It is vital we have legal protection to prohibit severe or long-term damage to the environment – for too long it has been overlooked or dismissed in wider decision making because we haven’t seen any real consequences for its destruction. A consultation on a Scottish law on ecocide is very welcome and is a critical step to addressing the climate and nature crises, by underlining our responsibility to look after the planet we depend on."
This new initiative in Scotland is proudly supported by Stop Ecocide International, the organisation leading the global conversation on ecocide law.
Several members of UK Labour, including David Lammy, have publicly suggested that the Party would actively support ecocide crimes being prosecuted at the International Criminal Court if Labour wins the next general election. Whilst in Scotland, the Scottish Green Party has indicated support of the proposed bill.
The consultation opens today (Wednesday 8 November) and runs for 14 weeks until Friday 9 February 2024.