04.09.2026 21:00
In Belgium, a regulation criminalizing serious, large-scale, and long-term damage to the environment as "ecocide" has entered into force. Under the regulation, situations such as major oil spills, large-scale pollution of seas, and nuclear waste causing severe destruction to the environment may be considered ecocide offenses. Individuals committing the crime of ecocide can be sentenced to prison terms ranging from 15 to 20 years.
A regulation criminalizing "ecocide" as causing serious, widespread, and long-term damage to the environment has entered into force in Belgium.
The new criminal code, adopted by the Belgian Chamber of Representatives in 2024, started to be applied as of September.
IMPRISONMENT FROM 15 TO 20 YEARS AND FINES UP TO 1.6 MILLION EUROS
In the new law, ecocide is defined as "an unlawful act committed intentionally with the knowledge that it causes serious, widespread, and long-term damage to the environment through action or omission."
Under the regulation, situations such as major oil spills, large-scale pollution of the seas, and nuclear waste causing severe destruction to the environment can be evaluated within the scope of the crime of ecocide.
Individuals committing the crime of ecocide can be sentenced to imprisonment from 15 to 20 years, while legal entities can be fined from 1.2 million euros up to 1.6 million euros.
THE PERPETRATOR MUST KNOW THE DAMAGE THEY CAUSE
For an act to be considered ecocide, the damage must be serious, widespread, and long-term; the act must be committed intentionally; and the perpetrator must know the damage they cause.
In Belgium, this law can be applied in matters falling under the federal government's jurisdiction, such as the North Sea, radiation, and radioactive waste management.
IT BECAME THE FIRST EU COUNTRY TO RECOGNIZE ECOCIDE AS A SERIOUS CRIME
Thus, Belgium became the first European Union (EU) country to regulate ecocide in its criminal code as an independent and serious crime under this name.
On the other hand, the concept of ecocide, used as an abbreviation for ecological destruction, is defined by the European Law Institute as "the destruction and devastation of the environment, even at the cost of life."