Ecocide is broadly defined as massive damage to and destruction of ecosystems – that is, widespread or long-term serious damage to nature.
„When I came to the European Parliament in 2019, the concept was completely unknown to the European institutions,“ says French MEP Marie Toussaint, who is taking the ecocide fight to Brussels. In the meantime, she says, „things have moved quickly,“ thanks to the persistent work of numerous lawyers, advocates, judges and academics, as well as the increasing mobilization of civil society. „Today, the recognition of ecocide could well be recognized in the Environmental Crimes Directive, which is currently being revised,“ she says.