Today, hundreds of singers from the Climate Choir Movement took to the streets of the City of London in support of the growing global initiative to criminalise ‘ecocide’.
The choir lent their voices, and feet, to the cause, marching through the heart of London’s financial district, highlighting the role that new ecocide legislation could play in redirecting investment away from the most harmful environmental practices and levelling the playing field for sustainable industry.

Ecocide is defined the mass damage and destruction of ecosystems, causing severe harm to nature with examples including ocean damage, deforestation and land and water contamination.

With a mix of traditional Christmas carols, and a sprinkling of brand-new songs including “The Climate’s Changing” and “Eradicate Ecocide”, the unusual sight of choir members dressed up in traditional banking attire turned heads from both the public and city-workers alike. The choir marched through the heart of London’s financial district, highlighting that the corporate banking world is amongst the worst offenders in contributing to ecocide.

Jo Flanagan, Co-founder and Actions Co-ordinator for the Climate Choir Movement said,
“There is a massive nature-shaped hole in international criminal law currently. There is no standalone crime aimed at preventing and punishing cases of extreme environmental destruction – ecocide. That has to change. And fast. It’s no coincidence that we’re here in the City of London during COP28. As global leaders gather once again, they have all of our fates in their hands, and we want them to know that ecocide legislation is an essential tool in the fight against climate breakdown.

“It’s very simple. You can’t hope to solve the climate crisis whilst no-one is being held criminally accountable for the clear-cutting of primary rainforests which are vital carbon sinks. We need to be legally protecting nature as part of our strategy to protect the climate.

“The Climate Choir Movement has grown enormously in the last year, which really shows the depth of feeling around the ecological and climate crisis we all know is well underway. But it is far from hopeless. We have the tools to make the changes necessary. And ecocide law is a total no-brainer in terms of something that could rapidly change the way in which every aspect of the global economy interacts with the natural world.”

Speaking from COP28 in Dubai, Jojo Mehta, Co-Founder & CEO of Stop Ecocide International added,
“With ecocide legislation being proposed in a new state almost once a fortnight, you cannot ignore the global momentum behind this initiative.”

“It’s wholly appropriate that the Climate Choir Movement has taken the call for ecocide law to the City of London. The financial sector of course plays a key role in steering the global economy and it does so within regulatory boundaries established by domestic and international law. We hear all the time that business wants nothing more than stability and certainty and our current ecological and climate stresses make for a difficult landscape for any industry to navigate.

“Ecocide legislation brings certainty for businesses. It establishes the regulatory boundaries beyond which is it no longer morally or legally viable to operate. Support is coming from businesses, like Triodos Bank, that know changes need to be made. They just don’t want to be disadvantaged by doing the right thing, and that is where ecocide law comes in.

“Holding individuals, for the first time, criminally accountable for decisions that lead to the most severe environmental harms will level the playing field for businesses that are already prioritising sustainable practices and redirect finance away from those projects which are most ecologically harmful.”

The last year has seen a swathe of domestic ecocide bills proposed across the world, including in Italy, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, and Scotland. Last Thursday, crossbench peer Baroness Boycott introduced a UK ‘ecocide bill’ to the House of Lords. This type of legislation is also being embraced at the regional level, with a provision to criminalise crimes ‘comparable to ecocide’ agreed by the European Union in November.