The panel discussion “Ecocide: Harm, Responsibility & Lived Realities” will take place on June 25, 2025 at 6:00 pm in the seminar room of the Chair of US-American Law at the University of Cologne. It combines legal and anthropological perspectives to critically examine the growing phenomenon of ecocide and the general challenges of dealing with large-scale environmental damage. The speakers will provide insight into the legal complexity of the definition and prosecution of ecocide, discuss alternatives to existing legal frameworks and address the lived reality of environmental destruction. Based on ethnographic research, it will also analyze how economic development is accompanied by high environmental and social costs and address the difficult question of corporate accountability in cases of environmental degradation. The event will consist of contributions from three speakers, Luke Johnson (University of Northumbria), Pujo Semedi (Gadjah Mada University) and Mrinalini Shinde (University of Cologne), followed by an open Q&A session. The event is organized by the Environmental Law Center, the Cologne Environmental Society (CES e.V.) and the Global South Studies Center (GSSC).