Make ecocide an international crime and other legal ideas to help save the planet | Steven Donziger

A list of the five most promising legal steps we can take to help fight climate change

The world has reached an acute point in the highway to climate hell". Talks at Cop27 barely achieved anything, despite the fact that almost one-third of Pakistan's territory was submerged during unprecedented flooding; record heat over the summer killed nearly 25,000 in Europe; and almost 200,000 people in a major US city have not had clean water for months.

It's all too easy to feel overwhelmed and helpless in the face of such widespread catastrophe. But we as citizens can do something right now. There are many interesting and entirely workable legal ideas percolating around the world from some very thoughtful people. Together, alongside increased citizen activism, these ideas can begin to provide a coherent and comprehensive legal framework for all of us to help save the planet.

Steven Donziger is a human rights lawyer and environmental justice advocate. He is also a Guardian US columnist