Environmental crimes gain ground at global summit – but critical gaps still remain

In April 2008, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) released a landmark report, Environmental Crime – A Threat to Our Future.

The report brought together key evidence across a range of crime types – from illegal logging and wildlife trafficking to pollution and climate crimes – highlighting the role of corruption and the critical need for financial investigations in tackling these issues.

We launched the report at a side event during the 17th session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ), alongside then UN Office on Drugs and Crime Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa.

In his closing remarks at that time, Costa floated a provocative idea – could a new protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) be the solution to effectively address environmental crimes?

Nearly two decades later, the conversation continues.

EIA UK’s Justin Gosling and Philip Rekret in Vienna for the CCPCJ meeting (c) EIA

At last week’s 34th CCPCJ in Vienna, EIA was in the room as member states and civil society revisited that very question. While no formal conclusion has yet been reached, there was clear and growing consensus that environmental crimes deserve greater multilateral attention under the UNTOC framework.

Such recognition could help to establish common definitions, align enforcement strategies, standardise penalties and improve international cooperation in sharing intelligence and evidence.

A step forward came in the form of a new Resolution proposed by Brazil, which gained traction at the meeting and will now proceed for adoption. It addresses several key issues focusing on wildlife trafficking, illegal timber, waste crime and illicit mining – but fell short of specifying other critical but often overlooked crimes, such as the trade in climate-damaging fluorinated gases (F-gases), including hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) widely used in refrigeration and air-conditioning.

We must go further.

Environmental crime is not a niche concern nor, for the record, is it an ‘emerging crime’. It is a global, transboundary threat that cuts across borders, economies and ecosystems. Pollution crimes committed in one country can poison rivers and air in others. Climate-damaging chemicals, when illegally traded and released, have far-reaching consequences. The trafficking of endangered species erodes ecosystems and biodiversity, often irreversibly.

EIA remains the only NGO dedicated to exposing and addressing the nexus of organised crime and environmental abuse across all three pillars of the triple planetary crisis – climate change, pollution and biodiversity loss.

For more than four decades, we’ve worked to ground-truth gaps and obstacles, shine a light on these crimes and press for the international policy reforms urgently needed. In the past year alone, we have conducted investigations into forest crimes in South-East Asia – identifying threats to already depleted forests – and have investigated the thriving illegal wildlife trade in Vietnam and Nigeria, both of which remain key hubs for ivory and pangolin scales trafficking.

The seizure of 8,492kg pangolin scales in Nigeria (c) Nigeria Customs Service

Wildlife traffickers have become more cautious, in part due to our ongoing efforts to expose and address organised crime and environmental abuse, as well as increased enforcement pressure. However, corruption continues to enable criminal networks to operate with impunity, particularly in Nigeria and across key transit points into Asia.

Looking ahead, the end of June will see member states gather for an open-ended intergovernmental expert group meeting focused on crimes that affect the environment. This meeting will assess the application of UNTOC to environmental crimes, identify gaps in international legal frameworks and evaluate options – including an additional UNTOC protocol – to better prevent and respond to these threats.

Seventeen years after we first raised the alarm, EIA again calls on global policymakers to act decisively. If we are serious about protecting the environment – and, by extension, all life on Earth – we must confront environmental crime with the same resolve and coordination as any other form of transnational organised crime.

Half measures will not suffice. It’s time for a comprehensive and holistic approach.