Safeguarding Earth-Regulating Systems in the Anthropocene

* Article: The planetary commons: A new paradigm for Safeguarding Earth-Regulating Systems in the Anthropocene. By Johan Rockström, Louis Kotzé, et al. PNAS, 121 (5) e2301531121, January 22, 2024

URL = https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2301531121

"a fundamental shift from a focus only on governing shared resources beyond national jurisdiction, to one that secures critical functions of the Earth system irrespective of national boundaries"

Abstract:

"The Anthropocene signifies the start of a no-analogue trajectory of the Earth system that is fundamentally different from the Holocene. This new trajectory is characterized by rising risks of triggering irreversible and unmanageable shifts in Earth system functioning. We urgently need a new global approach to safeguard critical Earth system regulating functions more effectively and comprehensively. The global commons framework is the closest example of an existing approach with the aim of governing biophysical systems on Earth upon which the world collectively depends. Derived during stable Holocene conditions, the global commons framework must now evolve in the light of new Anthropocene dynamics. This requires a fundamental shift from a focus only on governing shared resources beyond national jurisdiction, to one that secures critical functions of the Earth system irrespective of national boundaries. We propose a new framework — the planetary commons — which differs from the global commons framework by including not only globally shared geographic regions but also critical biophysical systems that regulate the resilience and state, and therefore livability, on Earth. The new planetary commons should articulate and create comprehensive stewardship obligations through Earth system governance aimed at restoring and strengthening planetary resilience and justice."

Excerpts

See also our entry on the Planetary Commons.

From the Conclusion:

Will Steffen et al. :

"We are confronted by rapidly rising risks of triggering irreversible and increasingly unmanageable Earth system–wide impacts and persistent shifts in life support systems. This requires a new approach to safeguard Earth’s critical biophysical systems that contribute to regulate planetary resilience and livability on Earth. This approach must be fully in sync with Anthropocene dynamics and the most recent scientific evidence of eroding planetary resilience. It must simultaneously recognize the integrated nature of the Earth system and the importance of its functions to sustain planetary resilience, while creating obligations for planetary stewardship and addressing injustices.

Planetary resilience is in the common interest of everyone, everywhere, and is central to sustaining the foundations of all life and ensuring justice. A global commons approach to govern collective nonexcludable resources in the best interest of the world community therefore remains valid but must be expanded to include critical Earth regulating systems in order to open up a more comprehensive and innovative path to safeguard planetary resilience and global justice. The planetary commons will require moving away from global commons as a means of governing resource use of natural resources beyond national borders, to universal rules of how to collectively secure critical biophysical Earth system functions that regulate livability on Earth for everyone, irrespective of where these functions are located. We believe that the planetary commons framework has the potential to initiate the long overdue paradigm shift that we urgently need to safeguard the Earth system as we move deeper into the Anthropocene."