Green Crime: Inside the Minds of the People Destroying the Planet, and How to Stop Them

by Julia Shaw

Traffickers. Hit men. Outlaws. Thieves . . .
Our planet is a crime scene – but can we catch the killers?

Enter a world where people are murdered, ecosystems are destroyed, organised criminals terrorise communities and corporate gangsters operate outside the law. And, closely following their every move, are teams of secret agents, vigilantes and scientists who are fighting for our planet’s future.

Using insider sources and her expertise as a criminal psychologist, Julia Shaw takes us deep into some of the worst environmental crimes of our time. She reconstructs the minds of the perpetrators in cases like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Dieselgate emissions scandal and the Shuidong wildlife crime syndicate. From the Amazon forest to South African gold mines, she follows the impact of green crimes right to our doorsteps and meticulously profiles the work of the heroes bringing these criminals to justice.

Shaw how do the Earth’s killers think? What makes their crimes so deadly? And how can we stop them from stealing our future?

Green Crime is the most far-reaching murder mystery ever told.

Genres: Nonfiction, Climate Change, Environment

352 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 9, 2025

About the author

Julia Shaw is an honorary research associate at the University College London. Born in Germany and raised in Canada, she has a MS in psychology and law and a PhD in psychology from the University of British Columbia. She is a regular contributor to Scientific American.

Reviews

[Anna G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Allen, die es noch nicht gelesen haben, kann ich es nur wärmstens empfehlen 🌍💚 – denn Umwelt betrifft uns alle. In sechs klar strukturierten Kapiteln erhält man nicht nur einen umfassenden Überblick über zentrale Umweltprobleme ♻️, sondern auch über die Menschen, die aktiv dagegen ankämpfen 💪. Besonders wertvoll finde ich, dass das Buch nicht nur die Täterinnen zeigt 🚫, sondern auch die Aktivistinnen, Fachleute und engagierten Menschen 🙌, die für unsere Zukunft eintreten 🌱 und die Rechte der Natur verteidigen 🌳⚖️.

[Jérôme · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ich habe gerade Julia's neues Buch „Green Crime“ gelesen und war beeindruckt, wie sie ihr Wissen als Rechtspsychologin genutzt hat, um ein so wichtiges Werk zur Bekämpfung der Umweltkrise zu schreiben. Durch die lebendige und spannende Erzählweise habe ich es in wenigen Tagen verschlungen. Es ist bereits das vierte Buch, das ich mit Begeisterung von ihr gelesen habe – diesmal sogar mit gleich zwei Themen, die mich besonders interessieren: die Psychologie des Menschen und das Klima.

[Robert Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really well written exploration of an area of crime that doesn’t usually get the attention it deserves. The book explains some genuinely complex issues in a way that feels clear and manageable, and her use of the six pillars to explain the key motivations behind each type of environmental crime helps make sense of it all.

I particularly liked the chapter on wildlife trafficking, if liked is the right word for something so grim. It’s a hugely complicated subject, and she manages to show just how tangled the whole system is without it ever feeling overwhelming.

What also stood out is that the book isn’t all bleak as a lot of non-fiction literature on the environment can often be. There’s actually a sense of hope in seeing how many people and organisations are out there fighting for the environment in really practical ways. It leaves you feeling like progress is possible, even if the scale of the problem is massive.

Overall, smart, clear and unexpectedly uplifting given the topic. Worth a read.

[Patricia Fix · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sehr informatives Buch über die Verbrechen, die an Erde, Luft und Tieren begangen wurden. Teilweise musste ich pausieren, da ich mich entweder zu sehr aufgeregt habe, oder zu traurig war.