Transformation for Earth System Governance

With all the debate about the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the need for fundamental reform of a failing United Nations system, resurgent nationalism and a decline in multilateralism, wars, corruption, extremes of wealth and poverty, widespread social injustice, and all the other symptoms of a disintegrating global society, it seems important to provide an overview of the positive steps we can take to encourage counteracting progress in integration.

The resulting paper, Transformation for Earth System Governance, tries to pull together key initiatives in a systems perspective. Here is an abstract of the paper.

Our planetary system is threatened by accelerating human impacts from a materialistic economy out of control. Governance failures due to a lack of political will result from sovereign nations and multinational corporations catering to short-term material benefits for the few, not the common good of all. There is no global governance of the Earth system being pushed far beyond its boundaries. The science of complex systems can generate models that warn of catastrophes to come, but also alternative ways to organise society sustainably through cooperation and justice within planetary limits. Wealth needs to be returned to its utility function, not an end in itself, and the economy given a social responsibility in harmony with nature. Such a fundamental transformation in society towards planetary citizenship with institutions of Earth system governance at multiple levels, reflecting a higher human purpose and spiritual values, can help us to emerge from the disintegration now facing us.

View the full paper here