14 DAY TRIAL // Dangerous changes in the Earth system are unavoidable, unless drastic measures are taken to rethink our approach to global environmental governance, a panel of 32 social scientists and experts on the subject said at a recent conference.
In a paper published in the March 16 issue of the top journal Science, the group explains that fundamental reforms in policies are needed to ensure that planetary systems are not thrown off-balance by the influences our civilization has on the world.
The fact that the Earth's climate is changing – and influencing the other systems, too – is obvious now to anyone who doesn't have a vested interest in not seeing this truth. The international scientific community has long since reached a consensus on this issue, AlphaGalileo reports.
Studies have been showing that we are nearing critical tipping points for quite some time now. Climate and biodiversity are most at risk today, and it would appear that people in a position of power cling on to every excuse they can get their hands on not to take action.
“Science assessments indicate that human activities are moving several of Earth’s sub-systems outside the range of natural variability typical for the previous 500,000 years,” the experts say in the opening of their Science article, entitled “Navigating the Anthropocene: Improving Earth System Governance.”
In order to avoid a global environmental disaster, “a clear and ambitious roadmap for institutional change and effective sustainability governance [needs to be developed] within the next decade,” adds the panel, which also includes a senior sustainability scholar from the Arizona State University (ASU).
The change needs to be as significant as the changes that were instilled in the international system of states following the end of World War II. The group believes that the creation of a Sustainable Development Council would contribute extensively towards that goal.
The purpose of such an institution would be to better integrate sustainability concerns across the United Nations system. The world's 20 largest economies (G20) could be given a leading role in the Council, so that it can act effectively.
The UN Environment Program could also be upgraded to a full-fledged international organization. This move would ensure it receives constant, adequate funding, while at the same time providing the UNEP with more international authority.
Representatives of civil society, from developing countries, NGOs, consumers and indigenous peoples will have stronger consultative rights than before, so that they can keep these institutions accountable.
“We should seek input from people closest to the ground, not just from the elites, not just at the 30,000-feet level,” explains ASU Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law professor of international relations, Kenneth W. Abbott.
“Consultations should not take place only at the global scale, where the broadest policies are created, but also at local scales, smaller scales, all scales,” he explains.
“There has to be a change in international negotiating procedures from the current situation, in which no action can be taken unless consensus is reached among all participating governments,” Abbott concludes.