December 23, 2024

Redefining Earth’s Future: Scientists Advocate for Revolutionary Planetary Commons Framework

They argue that these worldwide commons should not only include geographical regions however likewise important biophysical systems that control the strength and state of the whole world– what they term the Planetary Commons.Expanding Global Environmental LawAccording to Professor Louis Kotzé, co-lead author and a legal expert associated with the University of Lincoln, UK, and North-West University in South Africa: “Our existing worldwide ecological law and governance framework is unable to resolve the planetary crisis and keep us from crossing planetary borders. They argue that all individuals and states share a collective interest in protecting and successfully governing these important Earth system works for the cumulative good.The researchers proposed framework, built on the idea of global commons however substantially expanded, addresses the unprecedented pressure that human activities position on Earths vital regulative systems.Fellow co-lead author, Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Professor of Earth System Science at the University of Potsdam, highlights the need for multinational cooperation, mentioning: “To restrict dangers for human societies and safe and secure critical Earth system functions, the researchers propose a new structure of planetary commons to assist governance of the world. The researchers hope that their work will contribute to the development of a new global governance approach to resolve the planetary crisis and secure the stability and resilience of Earths vital systems.Reference: “The planetary commons: A new paradigm for securing Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene” by Johan Rockström, Louis Kotzé, Svetlana Milutinović, Frank Biermann, Victor Brovkin, Jonathan Donges, Jonas Ebbesson, Duncan French, Joyeeta Gupta, Rakhyun Kim, Timothy Lenton, Dominic Lenzi, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, Barbara Neumann, Fabian Schuppert, Ricarda Winkelmann, Klaus Bosselmann, Carl Folke, Wolfgang Lucht, David Schlosberg, Katherine Richardson and Will Steffen, 22 January 2024, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.DOI: 10.1073/ pnas.2301531121.