Countries around the world are implementing
new laws and developing new mechanisms to achieve the goals of the Paris
Climate Agreement, while while several organizations have filed civil
suits to force government action. But one mechanism has been sorely
under-utilized: namely, prosecuting climate scofflaws as criminals under
laws that already exist, argues Reinhold Gallmetzer of the
International Criminal Court.
This story initially appeared in the UNEP magazine “Our Planet”
Criminal justice can help achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement on climate change as part of an integrated approach from governments, private businesses, finance, science, civil society and others.
A significant share of global greenhouse gas emissions results from, or is associated with, conduct that violates existing criminal law. Those caused by deforestation and forest degradation are one striking example: a World Bank study on forest crimes found that up to 90 per cent of logging in key producer tropical countries is illegal and involves criminal activity. In addition, INTERPOL’s guide on carbon trading crime shows how fraud undermines the carbon market, an essential mechanism for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Even when emissions are not directly based on criminal conduct, they may be associated with crimes – such as corruption, trade violations, financial crimes or fraud – committed, for instance, in the context of extracting or trading fossil fuels or timber. Moreover, if there is a concrete causal link between a specific source of emissions and a harmful consequence – such as serious injury to body or physical health or the destruction of property – this may constitute a crime. All these offences can be collectively referred to as climate crimes.
Climate crimes are under-prosecuted due to: a misconception that their prosecution has an uncertain legal basis; the low priority given to them; and their under-reporting in the first place. Yet none of these reasons should stand in the way of significantly scaling up the prosecution of climate crimes. That would repress and deter criminal conduct that facilitates greenhouse gas emissions, and thereby help achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement.
Law enforcement authorities are already equipped with the necessary legal tools to prosecute climate crimes effectively. Many legal systems punish environmental crimes such as illegal deforestation or pollution, which may allow direct prosecution of greenhouse gas-emitting activities. Prosecutors may also examine the broader context in which emissions occur, as well as their consequences, and target them indirectly by focussing on crimes commonly associated with, or resulting from, emissions, such as corruption, financial crimes or destruction of property.
Read the complete Ecosystem Marketplace article
See also: http://www.climatecrimeanalysis.org/priority-prosecution.html
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