Governing the Planetary Commons: A Focus on the Amazon
How are the planetary commons to be governed in an ecologically responsible, just, democratic, and resilient way?
Claudia Andujar, Urihi-a – da série Casa (Urihi-a from The House series), 2002. © Claudia Andujar. Courtesy Galeria Vermelho, São Paulo | Read More
RELEVANCY
Global environmental law and governance, especially insofar as it operates at the interstate level, has failed us. Complicit in creating the conditions that have led to the Anthropocene, environmental law has been unable to tackle socio-ecological planetary decay head-on. Alternative ways of framing the law are urgently needed, as are new legal imaginaries and architectures, and ways of designing laws that are fit for purpose in the Anthropocene Epoch. This process of re-imagination can begin by building upon the concept of the global commons with a more expansive idea of the “planetary commons”. The planetary commons include globally shared geographic regions currently recognized under the global commons, but, more importantly, they also encompass all biophysical systems that secure and regulate critical functions of the Earth system irrespective of national boundaries. Examples include the atmosphere and the oceans, ecosystems such as wetlands, and tipping elements, such as the Amazon Rainforest, which are at risk of being changed irreversibly.
ABOUT
The Governing the Planetary Commons program was chaired by Louis Kotzé, who was joined by an interdisciplinary group of researchers and lawyers: Afshin Akhtar-Khavari, Ainhoa Montoya, J.B. Ruhl, and Karen Morrow. Using the Amazon Rainforest as a case study, the group of fellows examined how to govern crucial Earth systems responsibly and sustainably, and explored different governance models that could function in an ecologically sound, democratic, and resilient manner. The goal was to create a framework that would ensure the protection and sustainable management of these essential Earth systems for the benefit of all.
The planetary crisis demands an unequivocal recognition of the unprecedented levels of Earth system degradation, the highly unbalanced world order this is creating, the need to affirm commitments to planetary stewardship, and a critical awareness of both the potential and the limitations of our social institutions, including the law, to address the planetary crisis.
While law is only one of many instruments in the regulatory toolbox, it remains an important one that can play a critical role in creating the conditions that foster planetary resilience, justice, and integrity.
As we enter the Deep Anthropocene, the program suggests that the planetary commons can function as an epistemic framework to creatively and urgently develop alternative, more radical, innovative, and contextualized forms of planetary care.
The workshop specifically interrogated the potential and pitfalls of using the planetary commons as an epistemic framework to re-imagine alternative forms of planetary care. A second workshop in June 2024 focused on specific aspects of the planetary commons, namely, tipping elements and how law and governance regimes could be designed to prevent and/or mitigate tipping, and to minimize the social and other impacts when tipping occurs.
The group is particularly proud to have hosted Johan Rockström, Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact, at a public launch of a paper co-authored with program chair Louis Kotzé, which introduced the concept of the planetary commons.
The program activities concluded with a productive writing retreat where leading Earth system scientists and social scientists began work on a paper arguing in support of more intensive collaboration between natural and social scientists working in the area of sustainability.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
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internal event
Tipping Elements: A New Constitution for Law and Governance in the Anthropocene?
–A workshop by the program 'Governing the Planetary Commons' exploring whether the tipping elements could function as a new "constitution" for law and governance in the Anthropocene.
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internal event
Renewable MasculinitiesAn evening lecture with Cara Daggett, guest of the "Governing the Planetary Commons" program, examining the political relationship between ecomodernity and petro-masculinity as twin figures of domination.
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internal event
Imagining the International Seabed Authority (ISA) as a Planetary Institution for the Seabed as a Commons
–A workshop by our programs Reclaiming Common Wealth and Governing the Planetary Commons
Isabel Feichtner | Louis Kotzé | Frederic Hanusch | Governing the Planetary Commons | Reclaiming Common Wealth | Events |
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essay
The Commons of the AnthropoceneIn a paper just published in PNAS, an interdisciplinary team of natural and social scientists outline how humanity could stabilise the earth system on which it so urgently depends.
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event
Johan Rockström: The Planetary CommonsIntroducing a new paradigm for safeguarding earth regulation systems in the Anthropocene
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recording
Johan Rockström on Planetary CommonsIntroducing a new paradigm for safeguarding Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene
Louis Kotzé | Governing the Planetary Commons | Events | News |
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Press
Planetary CommonsFostering global cooperation to safeguard critical Earth system functions
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interview
The True Scale of the Crisis and the Everyday CatastropheLouis Kotzé on Local Governance.
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internal event
Governing the Planetary Commons: A Deep Dive
–This workshop by our program "Governing the Planetary Commons" facilitates a deep dive into the many complex issues arising from proclaiming and governing the planetary commons.
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internal event
Planetary Crises, Planetary Commons and State ConsentA Weekly Lecture by Duncan French on the crisis of international law
Relevant Publications by Fellows in the Program
Kotzé, Louis et al. (2023). "Governance of Tipping Elements in the Anthropocene”, Journal of Environmental Law, 30(2), pp. 123–145.
Akhtar-Khavari, Afshin et al. (2024). "The Planetary Commons: Reimagining Governance for a Destabilized Earth System”, Global Environmental Politics, 18(1), pp. 67–89.
Morrow, Karen et al. (2024). "Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge into Global Commons Governance", Journal of Sustainability Science, 15(3), pp. 201–219.
GET INVOLVED
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Information
For questions regarding the program please contact us at programs@thenew.institute
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