Planetary Commons
Discussion
Johan Rockstrom et al. :
"As we progress deeper into the Anthropocene with ever-expanding human pressures on the Earth system, there are increasing calls for a paradigm shift in our understanding of and approach to governing planetary risks and social transitions to a sustainable future.
In this article, we argue that recognizing the critical biophysical systems that regulate the Earth system as “planetary commons” is an essential part of such a shift. It is now well established that human actions have pushed the Earth outside of the window of favorable environmental conditions experienced during the Holocene and that humanity has the capability of changing the functioning and trajectory of the Earth system (2–6). Several studies highlight the serious challenges posed to global governance to protect the functions of Earth’s biophysical systems in ways that ensure planetary resilience and justice for present and future generations (7–12). If essential systems and processes are perturbed beyond critical thresholds, they can undergo irreversible state shifts with potentially dire consequences for life on Earth.
To maximize the probability for life to flourish, it is necessary to secure the core functions of the Earth system that regulate planetary resilience. This task falls under the remit of global law and governance (14, 15). In this constellation, one prominent approach is the global commons, with their distinctive status in international relations, law, and diplomacy (16). Four global commons have been variously identified using different legal terms (e.g., common heritage and common concern): the high seas and deep seabed, outer space, Antarctica, and (to a less clear extent) the atmosphere (e.g., ref. 17). These areas are shared by all states and lie outside of jurisdictional boundaries and thus sovereign entitlements, and all states and people have collective vested interests that they be protected and governed effectively for the collective good (18).
The global commons remain the closest example of global governance where multiple states have agreed to govern some, but not all, large elements of the Earth system, namely parts of the geosphere (deep seabed), hydrosphere (high seas), cryosphere (Antarctica), and the atmosphere (the climate system), while largely omitting the biosphere, and including outer space beyond the Earth system (19–22). Despite their potential to be governed as collective elements of the Earth system, there are several concerns related to the continued usefulness of the global commons as they are defined and governed today. The core of the problem is that the global commons, like international law more generally, have been negotiated by states within the context of the Holocene epoch, mainly to regulate resource access and use, geopolitical interests, and environmental protection under assumptions of a continuously stable Earth system, abundant resources to sustain life indefinitely, and predictable and relatively minor environmental disruptions to which humans can easily adapt through incremental governance interventions (23, 24). Given this conceptualization, the political and legal construct of global commons is unable to recognize and address governance challenges of an interlinked, continuously changing, and disrupted Earth system (25, 26).
Earth system science now shows that there are biophysical limits to what existing organized human political, economic, and other social systems can appropriate from the planet (7, 27, 28). Exceeding these limits will impact life-support systems, and the entire planet may irreversibly drift away from stable conditions. These long-term risks are preceded by immediate risks, where human pressures and interconnectedness between Earth’s biophysical systems lead to rapid impacts globally, for example, accelerated ice-melt or a sudden pulse of carbon from forest fires in one location on the planet impact livelihoods across the world. This has major social–ecological and justice implications for present and future human and nonhuman generations (29, 30). Interlinked planetary boundaries are being transgressed (7, 27), tipping elements show signs of destabilization (6, 13), and the resilience of Earth’s biophysical systems is being negatively impacted (31). Many of the systems critical to sustain life and the habitability of Earth lie outside of, or only partly within, the formal classification of the global commons. Examples are critical biomes such as boreal permafrost, tropical rainforests, coral reefs, and wetlands. Protecting their integrity is in the common interest of humanity, but the global commons framework has not been able to offer a comprehensive solution to safeguard these systems in ways that fully account for Anthropocene dynamics and interlinked Earth system characteristics.
In the Anthropocene, the Earth system is rapidly being stripped of its resilience, and critical planetary functions need to be secured through collective, more effective governance in ways that enable social–ecological resilience while reducing injustices (32–34). As the first step in conceptualizing a new approach to safeguard Earth’s critical biophysical systems, we identify and define a new category of “planetary commons” for the Anthropocene. The planetary commons include, but significantly expand on, the current global commons by embracing all critical biophysical Earth-regulating systems and their functions, irrespective of where they are located, because they are essential to sustain all life across the planet, including the stability of our societies.
Governance of the planetary commons must draw on, but also expand and improve, existing global governance regimes to ensure more effective governance for planetary resilience and a just and livable planet. Drawing on the legacy of Elinor Ostrom’s foundational research, which validated the need for and effectiveness of polycentric approaches to commons governance (e.g., ref. 35, p. 528, ref. 36, p. 1910), we propose that a nested Earth system governance approach be followed, which will entail the creation of additional governance arrangements for those planetary commons that are not yet adequately governed. A challenge for such regimes is to duly adapt and adjust notions of state sovereignty and self-determination, and to define obligations and reciprocal support and compensation schemes to ensure protection of the Earth system, while including comprehensive stewardship obligations and mandates aimed at protecting Earth-regulating systems in a just and inclusive way.
We arrive at our conclusion that a planetary commons framework is required for humanity to navigate the Anthropocene by first summarizing the evidence of risks of Earth system disruption, loss of Earth resilience and tipping cascades, and associated patterns of increasingly acute planetary injustice resulting from these disruptions. We then assess whether the current approach to global commons is still fit for purpose. Motivated by the limitations and deficiencies of the conventional global commons approach, we propose the planetary commons as an innovative path to safeguard planetary resilience and justice that must be achieved through stewardship obligations. While we do not attempt to offer a detailed description of a new global governance system that is perfectly aligned with the planetary commons framework, we make a first attempt to raise considerations, challenges, and features that need to be considered in the development of such a framework. We fully acknowledge the sheer complexity and magnitude of the endeavor implied in our proposed governance framework. Designing and implementing realistic, comprehensive, and well-functioning governance innovations in practice will require mobilization of efforts at an unprecedented scale, including future research. We suggest that the Anthropocene demands nothing less."
(https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2301531121)
More information
* 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 doi
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."