SECURITY: CRIME AND CORRUPTION
Ecocide: confronting environmental crime
L eaders must take robust action on environmental crime to protect the planet at this year’s G20 Rio Summit. Environmental crime is having devastating effects on the planet: global pandemics, floods in the Sahara Desert, conflicts in mineral-rich regions and the extinction of millions of animal and plant species. Estimated to generate $281 billion a year in profit, environmental crime includes illegal trafficking in ozone-depleting substances, hazardous waste and protected species, as well as illegal logging and illegal trade in waste, exploitation of natural resources and minerals, and greenwashing and the With stakes higher than ever, decisive action is crucial to combat corruption and preserve our future. G20 leaders must address the rampant environmental crimes endangering our planet
misuse of green finance. Illegal logging, fishing and wildlife trade alone are valued at $2 trillion per year. Environmental crime also threatens countries’ abilities to meet the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the goals on climate, protecting life below water and on land, as well as corruption, money laundering and organised crime. ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME AS A ‘POLYCRIME’ Described as a ‘polycrime’, environmental crime is often linked to corruption and fraud perpetrated by transnational organised criminal networks, which are linked to the same routes used to traffic drugs, arms and humans. Corruption enables environmental crime through the bribery of officials to access permits to protected land and species or to bypass scanning and security processes at ports. Corruption also involves the abuse of office by public officials for personal profit, leading to fewer arrests and prosecutions. In China, the former head of the Beijing wildlife and nature reserve office was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 2020 for approving trade permits for wildlife species. In Europe, there is widespread illegal trafficking in super pollutant
Denisse Rudich, director, G20 and G7 Research Groups (London), and CEO, Rudich Advisory
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G20 BRAZIL: THE RIO SUMMIT — 2024
globalgovernanceproject.org
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