Critical reviewFrom 'polluter pays' to 'polluter does not pollute'

- Legislation on international environmental law has proven to be limited.
- Human-caused ecocides and environmental harms demand effective legal response.
- Nature and scale of environmental issues demand new and transnational solutions.
- An international law of ecocide has the potential to become a very powerful tool.
- An international law of ecocide will promote ecological and environmental justice.

Non-binding agreements, minor sanctions in the form of payment obligations and shaming have been the usual policy responses against environmental harms. In addition to this, many existing pieces of legislation on international environmental law and governance are based on good intent and voluntary agreement and they have proven to be limited or ineffective. This article argues that, at the current state of the climate crisis, there is no more room for negotiations and proposals which lead to false solutions. Acknowledging that, legal solutions to environmental problems require new formulations which incorporate a different understanding of nature and its non-human inhabitants; this article suggests that an international law of ecocide has the potential to become a very powerful tool to transform structures which cause environmental damage and climate crimes.