Summary
July 2023, the Catalan Parliament initiated a procedure to bring before the National Congress of Deputies a bill to include the crime of ecocide in the Spanish Penal Code. To become law, the proposed bill must next be voted through by the Catalan Parliament, then again at the national Parliament of Spain. There will be several months of hearings in which amendments can be introduced to the text, after which a final vote will take place at the Catalan Parliament. After that, the bill will be transferred to the national Parliament, which is the body for the creation of criminal laws in Spain.
The proposal, which was drafted and registered by the Popular Unity Candidacy (CUP), has been promoted by Stop Ecocide en español, the Xarxa per la Justícia Climàtica (which includes more than 30 NGOs), and SETEM Catalonia. In addition, 71 Catalan NGOs have signed in support of this legislative initiative.
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon, Alex Putzer & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2026. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/catalunya-spain-bill-to-include-ecocide-in-spanish-penal-code/.
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