MSP’s ecocide law to tackle environmental crime clears hurdle at Holyrood

Proposals for a new law which could mean major polluters are jailed for up to 20 years have received enough support from MSPs to be introduced at Holyrood.

Labour MSP Monica Lennon’s proposed Ecocide Prevention Bill could make Scotland the first part of the UK to have such a law, imposing harsh penalties on executives responsible for major environmental damage.

The Scottish Government have also indicated they will not intervene to stop her member’s Bill, clearing the road for it to be formally introduced in the Scottish Parliament next year.

Members’ Bills require at least 18 MSPs from at least two of the larger political parties before they can be introduced, and the government can also stop the proposal if it is going to change the law in the same way.

Ahead of the deadline for signatures at 4.30pm on Wednesday, Lennon has more than 30 MSPs backing her Bill from all of Holyrood’s large parties.

The Central Scotland MSP told the PA news agency her recent consultation on the plans had been “inundated” with supportive responses.

She said the Bill would be focused on creating the crime of ecocide, setting out sanctions and consequences, rather than altering the wider system of environmental regulation.

Ecocide would sit at the “top of the pyramid” of environmental crime, targeted at executives of companies whose actions destroy ecosystems, rather than individual workers.

Lennon added: “It’s not looking to come after workers or middle managers – hopefully there can be some accountability.”

Lennon hopes to formally introduce the Bill before June next year in order for it to have enough time to go through Holyrood’s three-stage legislative process before the next election.

She said she is encouraged by the cross-party support for her plans, saying: “Parliament is speaking with one voice.

“We’ve had a really positive response to the consultation. We’ve got a lot of work to do now.”

Ecocide laws are intended to deter those who may cause widespread damage to the environment.

Earlier this year, Belgium introduced a new law on ecocide to its criminal code.

Scottish barrister Polly Higgins led a decade-long campaign for ecocide to be recognised as a crime before she died in 2019.