There are things that belong to no one and to everyone at the same time. These global commons, also known as global commons, currently primarily include parts of our planet that lie outside national borders, such as the high seas or Antarctica. But the tipping elements in the Earth's climate system should also be viewed as common goods, argue experts in a new study. Because regardless of which country they are in, the tipping points determine how livable our planet remains. However, taking collective responsibility for the climate and the earth requires more cooperation across countries, according to the researchers.
What all people need should belong to everyone and be used and protected by everyone. This is the accepted idea of the global commons. Geographical regions such as the high seas and the deep sea, Antarctica, outer space and the atmosphere are therefore shared by all states and people; no one has the sole right to them. Protecting these assets and managing them effectively is in everyone’s interest. But does this definition already cover all global commons? And what better legal action can be taken against people who damage or exploit these common goods and thereby endanger people and the planet?
Climate-effective regions should become common goods
Leading researchers from the legal, political and earth system sciences have discussed these questions for two years. They particularly focused on climate change, which affects everyone worldwide and which has an impact beyond national borders.
As a result of their discussions, they propose to expand the idea of global commons to also include so-called “planetary commons”. In the future, biophysical systems on earth should also be considered global commons that “regulate the resilience and condition and thus the quality of life on earth,” demand the scientists. In addition to the previous commons from the geo-, hydro-, cryo- and atmosphere, this also includes parts of the biosphere such as natural carbon sinks and large forest systems that significantly influence the climate and its tipping points.
The study cites forested permafrost, tropical rainforests, wetlands and coral reefs as examples of such critical tipping elements. When these parts of the Earth system reach their tipping point, they could permanently transition into a new state with consequences for the entire Earth - for example, if the Amazon rainforest becomes a savanna. “From the Amazon rainforest to the ice sheets of Greenland, the risk of triggering changes in the functioning of the Earth system that could be irreversible and uncontrollable is increasing,” explains lead author Johan Rockström from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. “As these changes affect people around the world, we argue that tipping elements should be viewed as planetary commons that have been entrusted to the world and therefore require jointly coordinated governance.”
Better governance and legal protection for the Earth
The proposal from Rockström and his colleagues is more than just a new definition. The researchers hope for a paradigm shift through which shared responsibility will finally meet the growing need for action. If the tilting elements are actually recognized as global commons as required, the global community will have to work even more closely together to protect the climate and its critical levers. “This is a challenge on a planetary scale and requires complex, joint solutions that go beyond national borders,” say the researchers. The countries of the world would then have to agree on a common and fair management of the earth's systems, emphasizes social scientist and co-author Joyeeta Gupta from the University of Amsterdam. The country in which the systems to be protected, such as forests, are located should no longer matter.
The aim of the desired global cooperation should be to relieve our battered planet before the tipping points are exceeded. “Earth’s critical regulatory systems are now being put under pressure by human activity on an unprecedented scale,” says legal scholar and co-author Louis Kotzé of North-West University in South Africa. “Our global environmental law is not sufficient to address this crisis and ensure that planetary limits are not exceeded. “That’s why we urgently need planetary commons, including as a new legal approach that can protect critical Earth system functions more effectively.”
Source: Johan Rockström (Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research) et al., Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), doi: 10.1073/pnas.231531121