Stockholm+50: Protect the Global Commons for the prosperity of all
A new policy brief from the Global Commons Alliance to Stockholm+50 outlines seven recommendations for Stockholm+50 to safeguard the global commons – the interconnected Earth systems vital for all life and civilization.
View the Stockholm+50 policy brief.
As the introduction to the brief describes, our relationship with Earth has changed profoundly since 1972 and the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. Pressure on our planet’s life support system has increased exponentially. Much of this pressure has come from a small minority of richer people, companies and countries.
Today, Earth’s climate, biodiversity, ice sheets, Amazon rainforest and ocean circulations are approaching irreversible tipping points. The stakes could not be higher. We risk losing a liveable Earth.
Myriad stark warnings about the planetary emergency have been issued in recent years: from scientists, Nobel Laureates, citizens, businesses and investors. So far, the global response has been too little, too late. We are failing, collectively, to steward the planet for future generations. This failure is felt in devastated lives and livelihoods and deepening anxiety for the future. As UN Secretary General António Guterres says, humanity faces a stark and urgent choice: breakdown or breakthrough.
We know we need to deliver the fastest economic transformation in history, making this decade a decisive decade for humanity. We face extraordinary challenges in succeeding, not just because the climate and environmental impacts are rapidly accelerating, but also because the decade has begun with a global pandemic, targeted military aggression, and growing inequity.
The Global Commons Alliance proposes seven recommendations to accelerate planetary stewardship and help make Stockholm+50 a success. We believe these goals are essential and achievable within the Stockholm+50 framework.
The seven recommendations in the Stockholm+50 policy brief are:
- Recommendation 1. Redefine the global commons
- Recommendation 2. Support an early warning system for tipping points
- Recommendation 3. Embrace a nature positive future
- Recommendation 4. Scale science-based targets for the global commons
- Recommendation 5. Shift communities from siloed to systems change
- Recommendation 6. Win hearts and minds: change the narrative
- Recommendation 7. Win hearts and minds: change education