About the Global Commons Alliance

Humanity is on a collision course with the carefully balanced natural systems that have kept our planet liveable for millennia. We all depend on these ‘global commons’, the interconnected systems that support life on Earth: from the Arctic sea ice to the Amazon rainforest, from critical ocean currents to our fresh water network.

These are the critical functions that, working together, make our planet habitable. They keep our land fertile, our ocean healthy, our air clean and our climate stable. But now human actions are pushing them out of balance.

The global commons are our shared inheritance, and our shared responsibility. Yet our existing institutions and societies weren’t designed to tackle this kind of universal challenge – the scale is too vast and they aren’t offering joined-up solutions.

No one citizen, company, city or country can solve this alone. So we have created a unique global alliance of those willing to park their egos, pool resources and work as one for the greater good.

Together, we’re turning theory into practice, despair into hope, and aspiration into action. We’re showing how everyone can become active guardians of the global commons we all share and depend on.

We seek out new ideas and spark collective action. We test and incubate innovative new approaches, models and products, at speed. We’re constantly convening, facilitating and questioning the status quo – a network of networks empowering each other and envisioning a time when we have moved safely to a rebalanced and restored planet.

We are  currently formed of 5 core components and over 70 partners. We come together from all over the world, bringing together rigorous science with diverse ideas, perspectives and solutions, in order to change mindsets, actions and systems. Everything we do is co-created but retains a single-minded focus – to enable all of us to safeguard the global commons.

For the next three years all our work will cluster around three mutually reinforcing strategic priorities for safeguarding the global commons and regaining planetary stability.

These are:

CHANGE MINDS | Combine cutting edge science with strategic communications to shift the narrative
The Global Commons Alliance will mainstream scientific understanding of humanity’s critical dependence on the global commons, and the existential threat posed by tipping points, with a new scientific framework outlining safe and just boundaries for people and planet.

CHANGE ACTIONS | Translate science for real economy implementation 
The Global Commons Alliance will scale the adoption, implementation and accountability of our pioneering tools for real-world action – in particular, science-based targets for nature and climate – with companies and cities.

CHANGE SYSTEMS | Facilitate convergence of key actors around an equitable and systemic approach
The Global Commons Alliance will facilitate convergence and help accelerate the urgent changes needed to safeguard the global commons by providing citizens, cities, companies and countries with detailed tracking of progress across major economic and other critical sectors, shining a light on drivers, progress and blockers of change.