On December 3, 2025, the Council of Europe opened for signature the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of the Environment through Criminal Law, which is the first regional treaty to criminalize a broad range of environmental harms. The Convention will enter into force after receiving ten ratifications, including at least eight by Council of Europe members.

The Convention implements commitments made in the 2023 Reykjavík Declaration to strengthen the Council of Europe’s work on the human rights aspects of the environment. It also responds to growing concern over the transnational nature of environmental crimes and the accelerating degradation of ecosystems, including climate change, biodiversity loss, depletion of natural resources, and habitat destruction. It establishes minimum criminal law standards for environmental protection, introduces extensive cooperation mechanisms, and creates a monitoring body to oversee its implementation.

Article 1 defines the purpose of the Convention as to (1) prevent and combat environmental crime; (2) promote and enhance national and international cooperation; and (3) establish minimum rules for domestic legislation. It applies to the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution and sanctioning of criminal offences established under its provisions.

Chapter IV includes a catalogue of offences. These include unlawful pollution (Article 12); placing on the market products that breach environmental requirements (Article 13); illegal activities involving regulated chemicals, radioactive material, mercury, ozone-depleting substances, and fluorinated greenhouse gases (Articles 14-18); unlawful collection, treatment, transport, recovery, disposal, or shipment of waste (Article 19); illegal operation or closure of dangerous installations (Articles 20-21); failure to recycle ships at authorized facilities and ship-source discharges (Articles 22-23); unlawful abstraction of water and trade in illegally harvested timber (Articles 24-25); unlawful mining (Article 26); illegal killing, taking, possession, or trade in protected wild fauna and flora (Articles 27-28); significant deterioration of protected habitats (Article 29); and introduction or spread of invasive alien species causing substantial harm (Article 30). Article 31 further introduces a “particularly serious offence” for cases in which intentional conduct causes destruction or irreversible, widespread, and substantial environmental damage, or long-lasting, widespread, and substantial environmental damage.

States parties must take the necessary legislative measures to establish jurisdiction over offences committed in their territory, on vessels or aircraft flying their flag, or by their nationals (Article 33). The Convention also requires the criminal, civil, or administrative liability of legal persons for offences committed for their benefit (Article 34) and mandates effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions for natural persons (Article 35). Implementation of the Convention will be monitored by the Committee of the Parties (Article 48).