Pacific Island Nations Submit ICC 'Ecocide' Proposal

Pacific Island Nations Submit ICC 'Ecocide' Proposal
Above: Suega Apelu stands in the lagoon on November 28, 2019 in Funafuti, Tuvalu. Image copyright: Mario Tama/Staff/Getty Images News via Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

Ecocide, the destruction of nature, should be a global crime. An ICC designation would enable the Paris Agreement to force nations to reduce emissions. A global climate emergency would require nations to modify laws — existing regulations won't save the planet. For Pacific Island nations like Fiji, Vanuatu, and Samoa ecocide is an ever-present and existential threat — countries on the front lines of environmental crisis especially deserve a legal recourse.

Narrative B

"Ecocide" comes from a long tradition of climate change and environmental alarmism, dating to the hyperbolic "eco-catastrophe" rhetoric of the late 1960s. It's one thing to discuss some common-sense adaptation approaches to a changing environment, but it's a slippery slope to indulge in apocalyptic environmental catastrophizing that has real legal and policy implications. It's far more effective to go down a path of thoughtful analysis and pragmatic solutions.

Metaculus Prediction


The Controversies



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