On World Water Day, March 22, 2026, the International Rights of Nature Tribunal released the final judgment of its 6th International Session, concluding that the expansion of fossil fuels and large-scale mining constitutes a systemic pattern of violations of the Rights of Nature, amounting to ecocide.

The judgment follows a multi-stage process carried out between 2024 and 2025, with hearings held during Climate Week 2024 in New York, during the Mineral Exploration & Mining Convention in Toronto and in Ecuador in early 2025, and before COP30 in Belém do Pará, Brazil, in late 2025.

Across the hearings in New York and Toronto, the Tribunal examined 24 cases from the Americas, Europe, Africa, and Asia. Testimony from frontline communities, scientific experts, and defenders of Mother Earth documented consistent patterns of environmental degradation, social harm, and cultural loss linked to fossil fuel infrastructure and large-scale mining projects, including the extraction of minerals central to the global energy transition. The Tribunal gave particular attention to the role of Canadian mining companies as major global actors operating across multiple regions.

The final session in Belém contributed to the Tribunal’s deliberations and culminated in the adoption of the New Pledge for Mother Nature, its official contribution to the People’s Summit and broader COP30 discussions. The Declaration calls for renewed commitments to ecosystem protection and the recognition of the Rights of Nature as a guiding legal and ethical framework.

In its findings, the Tribunal identifies fossil fuels and large-scale mineral extraction as interconnected drivers of environmental destruction and climate breakdown. It warns of a growing contradiction: while minerals are increasingly extracted in the name of the energy transition, these activities are intensifying pressure on ecosystems and communities, particularly in the Global South, a dynamic the Tribunal describes as “green colonialism.”

The judgment also highlights the central role of communities and defenders who continue to protect ecosystems despite facing criminalization and violence. In this context, the Tribunal presented its Policy on the Protection of Defenders of Mother Earth and Territories.

The Tribunal calls for a systemic transformation of current economic and energy models, including halting the expansion of fossil fuel extraction and large-scale mining in fragile ecosystems, ensuring accountability, and strengthening the legal recognition of the Rights of Nature. It also expressed support for international initiatives such as a Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and looking ahead, the judgment will be shared with movements and organizations convening in Santa Marta, Colombia. A future session will focus on oil extraction in the Amazon, including impacts linked to Petrobras.

👉 Read the full press release.

👉 Access the full list of perpetrators, who have been duly notified of this judgment.

👉 Access the judgment in English & Spanish.