EU wants to toughen penalties for environmental crimes

The European Commission proposed on Wednesday to strengthen its arsenal against environmental crimes, a project that is part of the debate on the international recognition of the crime of “ecocide”.

“Too often in Europe there is no real sanction for environmental crimes. Violators can go unpunished, there is very little incentive to respect the law ”, explained the European Commissioner for the Environment, Virginijus Sinkevicius.

In its updated directive, which must be approved by the Member States and MEPs, Brussels proposes to double the list of environmental crimes, adding the abusive use of chemicals, the illegal trade in wood or waste, the dumping of polluting substances by ships and illegal water harvesting.

The commission also wants to introduce “more dissuasive and proportionate sanctions”, asking states to provide prison sentences of up to ten years for environmental crimes that cause death or serious injury, as well as fines for companies of up to 5% of the total. global turnover, with the possibility of excluding them from access to finance and public procurement.

“Ultimately, the decisions will rest with the national courts,” but this text “will provide clarity,” Sinkevicius explained. “Environmental crimes can cause irreversible long-term damage to ecosystems, but also to human health. It is the fourth criminal activity in the world after drug trafficking, human trafficking and counterfeiting ”, he stated.

The European executive wants a more effective application of the law through better training of police officers, prosecutors and judges, facilitating cross-border investigations, but also strengthening the protection of whistleblowers and environmental defenders who reveal violations.

Furthermore, to reduce fossil energy use, the EU proposed on Monday to create a hydrogen market. The plan, which will have to be approved by the Member States, foresees that this new market will have a certification system as well as common standards to facilitate exchanges between member countries and third countries. Both the production, the transfer and the setting of rates would be governed by these rules.

In addition, the EU also wants to tighten restrictions on methane emissions: it has committed to reducing emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas by 30% by 2030, compared to 2020.

And the Commission also proposed promoting the storage of CO2 on agricultural land, a technique that involves a change in land use and that pays farmers for it. The procedure could store 42 million tons of CO2 underground until 2030.