International lawyer for the Earth, Polly Higgins, winner of the People’s Book Prize, has launched a ‘Who is Charles Grant?’ campaign to coincide with her new book Earth Is Our Business.
The book outlines an international Law of Ecocide that Polly has proposed to the United Nations. This would enable environmental destruction to be declared illegal by making it the Fifth International Crime Against Peace.
Ecocide is defined as: “The extensive damage, destruction to or loss of ecosystems of a given territory, whether by human agency or by other causes, to such an extent that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants of that territory has been severely diminished.”
The Law of Ecocide would make CEOs and Heads of State legally responsible for protecting the Earth. Polly is calling on world leaders to add an amendment to the Rome Statute which requires two-thirds of the statute’s signatories (81 votes) to become law.
The release of the book coincides with the launch of the ‘Who is Charles Grant?’ campaign, an international campaign aiming to find industry leaders ready to stand up against mass destruction of the environment. The Biggest Job on Earth advert has been placed in Forbes Magazine.
Who is Charles Grant? campaign: the campaign seeks a modern-day Charles Grant figure – a champion for the Earth. Grant was a director of the East India Trading Company in the 19th Century and publicly renounced slavery. Once he ceased to use this practice in his business he inspired other business leaders to follow. Grant played a big part in a revolution that lead to the abolition of slavery.
High profile supporters of the Eradicating Ecocide campaign include Daryl Hannah, Nnimmo Bassey, Jane Goodall, Vandana Shiva, Pablo Solon, Fransesca de Gasparis, Maude Barlow, Jonathan Porritt, Michael Stewart, Michael Mansfield, Michael Meacher, Evin Laslow and Deepak Chopra.
