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Scotland can lead the world with 'ecocide' bill currently in Holyrood
Good evening! This week's edition of the In Common newsletter comes from Michaela Girvan and Tara Pierce of the Ocean Rights Coalition.
IMAGINE the scene: a CEO sits handcuffed, silent, in the dock of a Scottish courtroom. He is not there because of a shareholder scandal or financial fraud but because the company he leads has caused widespread, long-term destruction of the marine environment through illegal bottom trawling in Scottish waters.
Expert witnesses describe the devastation. Once-thriving seabeds flattened. Biodiversity lost. Species pushed to collapse. Carbon stores released from the seafloor, worsening climate change, communities along the coast left with the wreckage and coastal artisan fishermen struggling. The courtroom listens, and the law now recognises this harm for what it truly is – not an unfortunate side effect of business but a crime against nature.
That scene may feel like fiction. However, it is exactly the kind of accountability the Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill currently progressing through the Scottish Parliament could make real. If passed, Scotland would become the first country in the world to criminalise ecocide in domestic law – a powerful and necessary step at a time of ecological crisis.
The bill, brought forward by Scottish Labour MSP Monica Lennon (above), defines ecocide as the causing of severe environmental harm, whether intentional or through reckless disregard. The harm must be either widespread or long-term – measured not in headlines, but in habitats, ecosystems and years. If passed, the law would make individuals, companies and public bodies liable for the most serious kinds of environmental destruction.
Punishments include up to 20 years in prison, fines and court-ordered restoration of the damaged ecosystems. Importantly, it introduces personal liability for directors and decision-makers. In a world where corporate impunity too often shields those at the top, this matters. What sets this legislation apart is not only its ambition but its timing.
Just last week, world leaders gathered in Nice for the third United Nations Ocean Conference. Once again, they committed to reversing marine biodiversity loss and protecting 30% of the world's oceans by 2030. The pledges are noble. But if we are honest, global action has repeatedly failed to match the scale or speed of the crisis.
Here in Scotland, we have a rare opportunity to do something the international system has so far failed to do: make marine destruction legally actionable as a criminal crime.
From deep-sea mining and industrial overfishing to oil spills, chemical dumping and plastic pollution, Scotland's marine environment is facing an onslaught of threats. Some of these are caused by foreign actors; others are permitted under existing UK or devolved policy. Either way, the law has not kept up with science, morality or the pace of destruction.
That is why this bill matters so deeply to those of us working in ocean protection. It acknowledges that the sea is not an industrial buffer zone or economic abstraction. It is a living system on which we all depend. Its kelp forests and corals store carbon. Its species form fragile food webs. Its health is climate health, biodiversity health and human health.
The bill does not mention the ocean by name, but its scope is broad enough to include it and serious marine harm. In doing so, it brings new hope to those who have campaigned for decades for stronger protections for the sea. It gives voice to communities who have watched polluters act with impunity. It sets a legal precedent that others can follow.
Scotland is no stranger to progressive leadership. From banning smoking in public spaces to providing free period products, it has shown the courage to legislate ahead of the curve. With this bill, it can again lead – not just the UK, but the world – on environmental justice.
There will be attempts to dilute this legislation as it moves through Parliament. Some will argue the definitions are too broad. Others will raise fears about economic impact. The truth is this: the cost of doing nothing is far greater. The science is clear, the damage is real and the legal gap is glaring.
We must not allow this bill to be watered down into symbolism. It must retain the strength to do what it promises: hold powerful actors to account for the destruction of the natural world. This is not about stifling enterprise. It is about drawing a line. About saying, as a country, that we will no longer tolerate the wilful wrecking of our wild ecosystems that sustain life.
The Ocean Rights Coalition is calling on MSPs to support this bill with integrity and urgency. We are asking members of the public to do the same.
If you care about the future of our seas – about their resilience, their beauty and their survival – now is the time to act. Email your MSP. Tell them you support the Ecocide (Prevention) (Scotland) Bill. Tell them not to weaken it and to keep the lion's teeth, and remind them that Scotland has a chance, right now, to lead the world and make history. To make sure the Scotland their grandchildren will inherent is protected.
The ocean is rising. It's time Scots law rose with it.
