Alison Cole

PhD Candidate in Criminology

Supervisors: Dr Russil Durrant and Bjorn-Oliver Magsig

Climate Change is a Crime Worth Conviction

My research examines the extent to which climate change is an international crime. This inquiry is deeply personal to me - I spent most of my professional career, nearly 20 years, investigating international crimes. The root causes of the atrocity crimes I investigated were directly tied to land, natural resources, and the continuing impact of colonial empires foreign to the indigenous communities living with their land - but the law had no mechanism for addressing this dynamic. Climate change is the apex of this phenomena. The legal remedies I examine will explore a new way forward. The proposed remedies will be grounded within my own indigenous worldview and based on ecological empowerment.

Contact: alison.cole@vuw.ac.nz