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Forbes
6 days ago
- Politics
- Forbes
Scottish Politicians To Look At Making Ecocide A Criminal Offence
EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - MAY 06: In this photo illustration, A man holds a Saltire flag outside the ... More Scottish Parliament on May 6, 2009 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the first Holyrood election polling day, before the Scottish Parliament gained full powers on July 1, 1999. (Photo by Jeff) Members of the Scottish parliament are to set to discuss whether or not to become the first nation in the United Kingdom to make ecocide a criminal offence. Labour MSP Monica Lennon has today (29 May) introduced the Ecocide (Scotland) Bill, which would make it a criminal offence to cause widespread, long-term or irreversible environmental damage. The bill defines ecocide as causing severe environmental harm either intentionally or through recklessness - where the harm is widespread, long-term or irreversible. And it would carry a potential penalty of up to 20 years imprisonment for individuals found guilty, with provisions for publicity orders, remediation costs, and unlimited fines for corporate offenders. In addition, senior executives could be held personally liable when offences involve their consent, connivance or neglect. The bill will now be considered by the Scottish Parliament, with committee scrutiny and evidence gathering expected to begin before the summer recess. It also mandates reporting on its operation after five years, including data on prosecutions, convictions, and environmental and financial impacts. An open letter to members of the Scottish Parliament has been published, signed by various leading figures. Lennon said the bill already has a lot of cross-party support and she is optimistic about its chances of becoming law in an interview. She said the aim of the proposed legislation is to ensure the most severe environmental damage, which causes widespread or long-term harm will be treated severely. 'It's about having a really strong deterrent and trying to change behaviours at a system level, so we can have a sustainable future for both people and the planet,' she told me. 'If Scotland is serious about facing up to the climate and nature emergency, then we need to have an ecocide law, because so many other countries are introducing one.' The chief executive and co-founder of Stop Ecocide International, Jojo Mehta said ecocide was first coined to describe the severe environmental damage caused by the use of the chemical weapon Agent Orange during the Vietnam war in an interview. Mehta added several countries have already incorporated ecocide into their national laws, including France, Ukraine and Belgium. She said the concept has also become embedded in various international legal documents, such as the EU's Environmental Crime Directive, which came into force in May 2024. 'The definition of ecocide focuses on the results or threatened results of an action, regardless of the cause,' she told me. 'The point is actually to protect the vital ecosystems,' she told me. 'People need to be able to see it coming. It needs to be taken seriously. The definition has embedded itself so strongly in the legal and political arena in various parts of the world. 'And it is really capturing the zeitgeist, because there is a growing awareness now of the danger that mass environmental harm poses to human wellbeing.' Professor Kate Mackintosh, the executive director at UCLA Law Promise Institute Europe, said the move to criminalise ecocide reflects a growing global recognition that severe and reckless harm to nature deserves the same legal scrutiny as other grave crimes in a statement. 'By establishing criminal accountability for mass environmental destruction, Scotland contributes to an emerging legal framework that not only deters and punishes the worst offences against the natural world, but also upholds the fundamental human rights that depend on a healthy environment,' added Professor Mackintosh.
Daily Mail
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Hypocrisy of a 'champagne' socialist! Top Scots union baron has holiday home on idyllic Jura - despite condemning 'negative' effects of second homes
Scotland's most senior union boss is at the centre of a major hypocrisy row over her ownership of a second home. The Mail can reveal that Roz Foyer, the General Secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), owns two houses – despite publicly condemning the scourge of second homes. Ms Foyer, who earns up to £100,000 a year, has blamed second home ownership for exacerbating Scotland's housing and cost-of-living crisis. Now an investigation by this newspaper has sparked accusations of blatant 'hypocrisy' by the top union official – who oversees a coalition of 40 trade bodies across the country. We can reveal that Ms Foyer and her husband have a holiday cottage on the idyllic Isle of Jura, as well as their four-bedroom family home in the leafy suburbs of the north-west of Glasgow. The pretty two-storey stone-built island home, which is believed to be worth around £150,000, is situated in a tiny hamlet just a few miles from where George Orwell famously wrote his dystopian novel 1984. Earlier this month a Labour MSP told a Holyrood debate that a proliferation of holiday homes was making life harder for public sector workers – the very people that Ms Foyer claims to represent. Last night Scottish Conservative finance and local government spokesman Craig Hoy blasted Ms Foyer's double standards. He said: 'Hypocrisy is the religion of champagne socialism. We look forward to Roz Foyer's condemnation of Roz Foyer.' Stalwart trade unionist Ms Foyer was appointed to the top job in Scotland, representing 500,000 workers, in 2020. As the first woman appointed to the position in the collective's long history, she pledged to help tackle the stereotype of unions being only for blue-collar men and revealed her mission to amplify the 'working class' voice. Ms Foyer has repeatedly spoken out about the negative impact second homes have on communities. Defending the STUC's policy position set out in July 2023, that there should be a 300 per cent council tax premium on second and empty homes to tackle homelessness in Scotland, Ms Foyer wrote that it was time that the wealth in Scotland was shared. She said: 'We cannot ever hope to solve the chronic lack of housing, with the unforgivable levels of homelessness throughout the country, if the Scottish Government continues down this path of reinforcing rentierism. 'A premium on council tax for homes that are not in use, second homes and short-term lets would provide vital extra resources for local authorities, helping incentivise homes into use, raise revenue and bring down rents in the long term.' Months later, in December, she appeared to go further with her criticism of second home owners when she welcomed new Scottish legislation which gave councils the power to double council tax on second homes. She said: 'Scotland is facing a simultaneous housing crisis, a public sector funding crisis and a cost-of-living crisis putting an unbearable strain on working people. 'Second homes and short-term lets can have significantly negative impacts on communities, exacerbating these crises as well as undermining the local economy.' And in February 2024, in a newspaper column, Ms Foyer highlighted the number of long-term empty properties and second homes in the Highlands. She wrote that 'workers in the Highlands are facing an acute housing crisis' before adding that figures from the Scottish Government showed that there had been a nearly 670 per cent increase in long-term empty properties in the Highlands. However, despite admitting that second homes cause serious problems for rural communities, title deeds obtained by The Mail show that Ms Foyer bought a property on Jura with her husband, fellow trade union official Simon Macfarlane, for £45,000 in 2012. The pretty cottage enjoys a lovely spot on Jura which is known as one of Europe's 'last lost wildernesses' and boasts a small population of around 220. Similar properties on Jura have been recently valued at around £150,000. Ms Foyer and her husband, Mr Macfarlane – who is a regional manager for trade union Unison – are understood to spend most of their time with their two daughters at their residence on a private estate near Maryhill in Glasgow, which cost the family £280,111 in 2015. They visit the remote island, known for its peaty whisky, for family holidays, and are believed to have taken a trip as recently as last month. Locals have seen Ms Foyer and her family enjoying long strolls down Jura's beaches. Despite living in Glasgow, Ms Foyer is even part of the Isle of Jura Community Group on Facebook and has offered out old wellies and jigsaws to residents. The issue of second homes was debated in the Scottish parliament earlier this month during a motion brought by Ross Greer of the Scottish Greens. The discussion heard concerns that a high concentration of second homes has caused house prices and rents to rocket and reduced the housing supply for local people. Scottish Labour MSP Carol Mochan said that holiday homes were making it harder to recruit and retain public sector workers. She said: 'A lack of affordable housing affects not only individuals and communities but local businesses that want to attract workers. 'Very importantly, a lack of affordable housing also affects the recruitment of public sector workers.' She continued: 'I have strong evidence of that from the Borders area of my South Scotland region. 'Trade unions have told me that people are not coming to work in the area or are having to travel a long distance, which sometimes involves a journey of an hour or more, to get to their work. 'That is not sustainable. The Health, Social Care and Sport Committee has heard compelling evidence on the issue, in oral evidence and on a visit to the islands. 'The health boards have described the situation as a crisis for service delivery. It is a very important issue.' However, a spokesman for the STUC last night said: 'The General Secretary has been transparent and clear on our position of increased taxation for those with assets. 'She fully supports that policy and, as such, willingly advocates and holds herself accountable for the additional taxation it would incur.'
