Quitting a high-paying job as a barrister to pursue justice for the environment: now that’s dedication. But this was just the tip of the melting iceberg for Polly Higgins – she also sold her house to fund her efforts to create a legal duty of care for the planet. Little wonder then that this remarkable woman became known as the Earth’s Lawyer.
Polly was on a mission to criminalise mass ecological damage and destruction (ecocide) for which there is currently no effective deterrent – only ‘soft laws’ that let the politicians and chief executives responsible off the hook. Polly reasoned that, if the individuals can end up in the International Criminal Court and be sentenced, they’re likely to act with greater care, and corporate and state responsibility for the environment would…
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The Simple Things (Digital) - 1 Issue, August 2019