David Whyte, "Law’s Quick Fix? Ecocide, Social Transformation and the Pitfalls of Criminalisation"

Description: Calls to criminalise "ecocide" are, it seems, everywhere: from indigenous activists and those in the global periphery, to NGOs and political actors in the core. What unites these calls is both a sense of urgency and a need for international action. Yet this paper contends that ultimately the proposed crime of ecocide may be unable to tackle the social reality of ecocide and may indeed compromise further our ability to do so.

Biography: David Whyte joined Queen Mary University of London from the University of Liverpool in 2022. He is the Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice. Prof. Whyte teaches modules on "Climate Justice" and "Researching Powerful Organisations."

David Whyte's research focuses on the relationship between law and corporate power. He has researched the regulation of business in a wide range of contexts, including working conditions, institutional fraud and corruption, economies of war and conflict, human rights violations and ecocide. His current research focuses on legal responses to climate change, corporate accountability for climate change and climate justice in the workplace.  He is the author Ecocide: Kill the Corporation Before It Kills Us (Manchester University Press, 2020).