Belgium’s Federal Parliament last week (23 February) voted in favour of a new penal code for the country, which, for the first time in Europe, includes recognition of the crime of “ecocide” at both the national and international levels.
Nationally, the new crime of ecocide, aimed at preventing and punishing what are deemed to be the most “severe cases of environmental degradation”, such as extensive oil spills, will apply to individuals in the highest positions of decision-making power and to corporations.
The punishment for individuals may include up to 20 years in prison, while corporations could face fines of up to 1.6 million euros.
Within Belgium’s federal monarchy, domestic environmental legislation is primarily the responsibility of the three regional governments of Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels. The scope of this new law is limited to areas within the jurisdiction of the federal authority, including the North Sea and nuclear waste management.
The limited domestic scope of the new bill is not a reason to dismiss the significance of the development, says Patricia Willocq, Director of Stop Ecocide Belgium, who said: “Last November, following months of relentless advocacy from a diverse coalition of political allies, the European Union reached an agreement to incorporate a new dedicated offense into its recently revised environmental crimes directive, targeting ‘cases comparable to ecocide’.
Read the entire article here: https://www.circularonline.co.uk/news/belgium-becomes-first-european-country-to-recognise-ecocide-as-international-level-crime/
