Wrecking ball politics
12/02/2026
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Dear Planetary Steward,
We certainly live in times of disruption. Ahead of this week’s Munich Security Conference, the forum’s annual report published on Monday warns the world has entered “a period of wrecking-ball politics” and that the US-led international order is “now under destruction”.
The authors warn that systemic destruction in global governance makes climate cooperation mechanisms, such as the Paris Agreement, more vulnerable. Yet, given that climate change and nature loss are such big security risks, they should have taken a more central focus in the report. A UK government intelligence report released last week and this week’s IPBES Business and Biodiversity Report, which highlights pervasive risk to the economy, reiterate this point.
But as authors attest, this injection of destructive politics will not clear the way for security, prosperity and freedom. Instead this demolition unleashes the opposite: a world that provides only for the powerful few, increasing insecurity and instability across economies, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of us all. As the new IPBES assessment also makes clear, we have a fundamental opportunity to align financial stability and business profits with benefits for biodiversity and people. We must collaborate to build security, prosperity and resilience for all, by safeguarding the global commons. For those at Munich Security Conference this week, we look forward to discussing in person.
This critical need for collaboration is why the Global Commons Alliance brings together civil society, philanthropy, business networks, and science to safeguard and restore Earth’s life-support systems, equitably, now. Yesterday we put a spotlight on an impressive cohort of Alliance members for International Day of Women and Girls in Science – a demonstration of the power which we can hold by combining our efforts. Last week we held our third Global Commons Dialogue session with a presentation from Systems Change Lab on closing the global gap in climate action and discussion on the geopolitical turbulence we face. We came away with renewed hope, as we discussed near and medium-term opportunities to build coalitions for planetary stewardship. If you would like to join our next Dialogue session, consider joining the Alliance – and hopefully you will also find clarity in the chaos, as we rebuild a Safe and Just future, together.
With all our best, Sebastian Schienle, Co-Director (Partnerships and Programs) Will Tucker, Co-Director (Communications and Resource Mobilization)
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