Climate

To tackle environmental crime, track profits through the whole supply chain (commentary)

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Based on a feed excerpt; full article content has not been acquired. Source evidence retrieved 25/09/2026, 18:09:24 UTC.

Briefings

A new Brookings Institution paper argues that environmental crimes significantly undermine sustainable development and climate action by draining revenue from legitimate sectors and weakening governance institutions. The article highlights that while governments focus on enforcement against illegal actors, the broader criminal economy is far larger than previously estimated, potentially reaching trillions annually. Key figures include an IBAMA agent conducting a raid on an Indigenous reserve, illustrating the scale of operations that evade standard law enforcement. The study emphasizes that current economic models fail to account for the systemic drag these crimes place on global trade and finance.

Key points

• Environmental crimes drain revenue from legitimate companies and public coffers, weakening institutions responsible for governance.
• Annual proceeds from the global criminal economy are estimated between $110 billion and $281 billion, with the true figure likely exceeding trillions.

Context and limitations

The study relies on a single paper from the Brookings Institution and does not provide real-time data on the current scale of environmental crimes. Specific details on the total economic impact remain uncertain due to the lack of comprehensive global financial reporting on these illicit activities.

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