A new study has found that most Italians support making ‘ecocide’ a crime. The Global Commons Survey 2024, released on Friday, shows that 67% of the Italian public favour criminalising actions by senior business leaders or government officials that cause widespread, long-term, or irreversible environmental damage.
The survey, conducted by Ipsos UK and commissioned by Earth4All and the Global Commons Alliance (GCA), assessed attitudes in 18 G20 countries.
Ecocide, which is defined as “the destruction of large areas of the natural environment as a consequence of human activity” is not currently a crime the International Criminal Court in The Hague can prosecute. Corporations responsible for severe environmental harm may face lawsuits and fines, but these penalties are often factored into their budgets. As a result, executives have no real disincentive to commit ecocide, as there is no risk of arrest or imprisonment.
However, a campaign to make ecocide a ‘crime against peace’, punishable by the International Criminal Court, is gaining momentum. Some countries have made progress at the national level. Earlier this year, Belgium recognised ecocide as a federal crime, and related laws have also been passed in Chile and France.
Italians are concerned about the state of nature
The Global Commons Survey found 88% of Italians are worried about the current state of nature. This drops slightly to 86% who are concerned about the future state of nature for the next generations. These figures align closely with the G20 average. Additionally, 62% of Italians agree that human activities have pushed the Earth towards environmental ‘tipping points’. This is slightly below the G20 average of 69%.
However, 46% of the Italian respondents feel that ‘many of the claims about environment threats are exaggerated’.
The survey reports that 44% of Italians feel exposed to environmental or climate risks. Of those, younger people feeling more vulnerable (54% of 18-24 year-olds and 55% of 25-34 year-olds). Across the G20 countries, 72% of respondents support criminalising ecocide, slightly higher than the level in Italy.
“The majority support (72%) for criminalising actions which allow serious damage to the climate surprised us,” said Owen Gaffney, co-lead of the Earth4All initiative. “The majority of people want to protect the global commons; 71% believe the world needs to take action immediately. Our survey demonstrates that people across the world’s largest economies are acutely aware of the urgent need to safeguard our planet for future generations.”
