Arctic Climate Change Criminology (AC3): transgression of Arctic planetary boundaries as a white ecocide
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.30827/rec.9.33174Keywords:
planetary boundaries, white ecocide, Artic, climate change, green criminologyAbstract
The planet has finite limits, which have been determined and quantified by scientific enquiry. Consequently, it has been demonstrated that the modification and contravention of these limits can result in consequences that are irreversible. The damage to the environment caused by human activities has continued to increase over the last centuries. As a consequence of these anthropogenic pressures, six of the nine planetary boundaries have now been exceeded. Despite the efforts of some states to implement preventive measures, we are witnessing increasing levels of anthropogenic pressure in areas of particular and vital importance, such as the Arctic. International law has addressed some of these problems with sectoral or territorial mechanisms to deal with environmental damage, but these have proved ineffective. This paper addresses the construction of a monitoring and sanctioning framework from the perspective of international criminal law, with a rigorous analysis of the importance of this ecosystem to the planet. It proposes a new configuration of a crime of great ecological magnitude, namely White Ecocide, which has the potential to unleash consequences on a planetary scale.
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