Violent wars have ravaged the world on many occasions throughout history. While armed conflict is a common occurrence, little effort has been made to mitigate the effects of war on the climate. There are a variety of laws and regulations in place today that are intended to limit armed conflict in different ways. But most agreements and guidelines, on the other hand, have proven ineffective in preventing and redressing environmental destruction caused by armed conflict.
Lawyers from all over the world are pushing for the creation of a legal duty of care for the environment. This campaign seeks to make ecocide a global crime. Their plan is to make ecocide the fifth crime against peace, and to have ecocide legislation enacted in the jurisdictions of ICC.
On the other hand initiatives to criminalize ecocide represent a growing ecocentric worldview in the law that recognizes nature’s inherent value and rights. This responsibility to nature necessitates the harmonization of human laws with natural laws.
The political and enforcement barriers are formidable, but an awakened and committed citizenry, bolstered by the Paris Agreement may be able to elevate the prevention of environmental crimes to a globally accepted standard.
