Director-General/Executive Director
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
I am glad to join you today to keep the spotlight on crimes that affect the environment.
I would like to begin by expressing my gratitude to the Government of Azerbaijan for hosting this side-event, and for the excellent organization and warm hospitality experienced during my visit to Baku last year.
As the climate COP29 President, Azerbaijan has shown important leadership in highlighting the security and criminal justice dimensions of environmental crimes.
I am also pleased to welcome the United Arab Emirates, who held the climate COP28 Presidency and whose presence today reminds us of the importance of continuity and partnerships as we move from Baku to Belém in Brazil.
Excellencies,
The world is facing an urgent triple planetary crisis of climate breakdown, pollution, and biodiversity loss.
Our oceans are suffocating on plastic, our forests are being destroyed, and our fragile ecosystems are vanishing before our eyes.
And much of this devastation is being caused by organized crime.
From illegal logging and mining to the trafficking of wildlife and hazardous waste, criminal activity is damaging our environment and its ability to withstand the planetary crisis, while destabilizing livelihoods and undermining security and the rule of law.
These crimes are part of a global illicit economy that is increasingly sophisticated, low-risk, and highly profitable.
According to the World Bank, the combined estimated value of the illegal logging, fishing, and wildlife trade alone is between 1 to 2 trillion dollars per year.
This makes them among the world’s most lucrative criminal enterprises, with growing transnational reach.
For example, UNODC’s 2024 World Wildlife Crime Report shows that the illegal wildlife trade spans the globe, with seizures reported in over 160 countries.
Meanwhile, as the race for critical minerals accelerates, driven by the green energy transition, the sector remains vulnerable to criminal networks that are exploiting weak governance and infiltrating supply chains.
Illicit operations are also becoming harder to detect, as they increasingly blend with legitimate trade.
And there is growing overlap with other criminal activities such as drug trafficking, trafficking in persons, and money laundering.
As such, environmental crimes are more than just an attack on nature; they are an attack on security, prosperity, and the rule of law.
Yet global responses remain too un-coordinated, underpowered, and under-funded.
If we are serious about climate action, we must be serious about fighting crimes that affect the environment.
This means taking action on several fronts.
First, we need stronger laws that treat crimes that affect the environment as serious offenses with serious consequences.
Too many legal systems contain loopholes or treat these offenses as minor infractions, enabling criminal networks to act with impunity.
Second, we must strengthen the capacity of law enforcement and the judiciary and ensure they can share intelligence and work across borders effectively.
The UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime gives us a robust legal framework for greater cooperation, harmonized standards, and stronger accountability.
And third, we must harness multilateral momentum.
The resolution on crimes that affect the environment adopted at last year’s UNTOC COP was a positive step forward, and the resolution currently being discussed at this session of the CCPCJ can build on that step.
And as we look to the 15th Crime Congress in 2026, we must keep criminal justice and environmental protection high on the global agenda.
Excellencies,
UNODC is working to give countries the tools, expertise, and data to tackle environmental crimes.
In 2024, we trained over 2,000 police officers, prosecutors, and judges, and supported more than 80 cross-border wildlife crime investigations.
In December, we assisted in repatriating over 1,000 vulnerable and endangered species from Thailand to Madagascar – one of the largest such operations ever conducted.
We are also using modern tools like AI, DNA forensics, open-source intelligence, and financial investigations to trace, expose, and disrupt criminal networks.
We are producing leading research, using data and satellite analysis to map criminal activities and their connections with other serious offenses.
For example, earlier this week we launched a new Global Analysis on Illegal Gold Mining exposing the criminal dynamics in the gold supply chain.
And we are supporting regional responses, including a new initiative in Southern Africa to strengthen oversight and enforcement in the critical minerals sector.
Ladies and gentlemen,
At COP29, we adopted a strong call to action to mobilize law enforcement as a force for climate action.
Let’s use this session of the CCPCJ to carry that call forward and to push for even greater ambition at COP30 in Brazil, to stop the criminal exploitation of our planet.
Thank you.
