292 Pages
    by Routledge

    292 Pages
    by Routledge

    Environmental crimes are primarily driven by financial motives. The combined financial value of illicit trade in protected wildlife, illegal logging and waste trafficking is estimated to come directly after counterfeiting, the narcotic drugs trade and illegal gambling. Logically, the proceeds of these crimes must also be laundered. Goods, however, are not the only money maker for environmental criminals. Corporations may also try to ‘save’ costs by not complying with environmental regulations and thus commit crimes of omission rather than commission. From an enforcement and compliance perspective focusing on the proceeds of crime may therefore be an effective strategy.

    This book brings together different perspectives on the financial aspects of environmental crime and harm from a green criminological viewpoint. It addresses the role of economic systems, the value of environmental performance for corporations, money laundering in the context of environmental crime, financial investigation and questions of regulation and penalties.

    Discussing these topics from the view of green criminology, sociology and governance, this book will be of great interest to all those concerned about the financial dimensions of crime and the environment.

    Introduction - Toine Spapens, Rob White, Daan van Uhm and Wim Huisman

    Part I: Systemic drivers of green crimes

    1. Destruction and the philosophy of desire - Vincenzo Ruggiero

    2. Environment, Conflict and Profit: Harmful resource exploitation and questionable revenue generation - Avi Brisman and Nigel South

    3. Eco-mafia and Environmental Crime in Italy: Evidence from the Organised Trafficking of Waste - Anna Rita Germani, Antonio Pergolizzi and Filippo Reganati

    4. Supply and demand: Regulation and the trade in illegal wildlife - Amy Couper and Reece Walters

    Part II: Corporations, environmental violations and the money

    5. The ‘Dieselgate’ scandal: a criminological perspective - Toine Spapens

    6. Environmental Responsibility and Firm Value - Nadja Guenster and Jakob Koegst

    7. Too big to deter, too small to change? Profitability and environmental compliance in the waste and chemical industry in the Netherlands - Karin van Wingerde and Marieke Kluin

    8. Waste crime from three criminological perspectives. Implications for crime control and harm prevention - Lieselot Bisschop and Wim Huisman

    Part III: Financial regulation and enforcement

    9. Green with Envy: Environmental Crimes and Black Money - Michael Levi

    10. Wildlife and laundering: interaction between the under and upper world - Daan van Uhm

    11. The limits of ecological modernisation to effectively manage greenhouse gas emissions. A case study of carbon market crime - Ruth McKie

    12. Financial investigation in environmental crime cases in the Netherlands - Rudie Neve and Nanina van Zanden

    13. Sentencing Environmental Offenders: It is Not Just About the Money - Rob White

    Biography

    Toine Spapens is Full Professor of Criminology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands.

    Rob White is Professor of Criminology at the University of Tasmania, Australia.

    Daan van Uhm is Assistant Professor of Criminology at the Willem Pompe Institute for Criminal Law and Criminology, University of Utrecht, the Netherlands.

    Wim Huisman is Professor of Criminology and Chair of the Department Criminology at VU University Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

    'Beginning in the early years of the 21st century people have been increasingly enervated by environmental concerns and Green Criminology has emerged as one of the most pressing issue areas for academics. This collection presents a marvelous compilation of essays by some of Criminology’s most interesting scholars in a piercing examination of these vital and disquieting topics. The volume offers a critical perspective on the global opportunity structure of capitalist consumption and production showing that the institutions intended for the manufacture and fulfillment of human desire have been built on criminal environmental degradation.'

    James Sheptycki, McLaughlin College, York University, Toronto, Canada

    'Environmental crime, unsurprisingly, often tends to be concerned with financial gain. This collection – edited by leading international scholars – offers an insightful, thought-provoking examination of the ‘finances’ of environmental crime, with perspectives from different disciplines and jurisdictions. I highly recommend it.'

    Colin King, University of Sussex, UK

    'This collection reinvigorates the critical nature of green criminology, returning the field to its origins by questioning the processes of capitalism that have so irreversibly touched global ecology. This is essential reading for those concerned about the future of the planet and the profit motives that threaten it. An outstanding achievement!'

    Bill McClanahan, Eastern Kentucky University, USA

    'This is a fascinating analysis of environmental crime, seen through the lens of finance. It brings together research on seemingly diverse topics including the waste trade, the illegal wildlife trade and carbon trading, but demonstrates how they harm the environment, and crucially, how they reproduce and deepen social and economic inequalities.'

    Rosaleen Duffy, University of Sheffield, UK

    'This book shows that the interplay of actors both from the under- and upperworld are crucial to the resilience and reproduction of environmental crimes. In the age of climate change denialism and unprecedented environmental destruction, the collusion of corporations, industrial lobbies, politicians and criminals in the perpetration of such crimes should be of particular concern to readers. Some of the world’s top researchers in the field of green criminology and related disciplines offer novel perspectives on the interplay between legal and illegal markets, systemic drivers of environmental crimes and how to best address them. A must read to anyone who cares about our environmental futures.'

    Annette Hübschle, University of Cape Town, South Africa