Big World, Small Planet: Abundance Within Planetary Boundaries

by Johan Rockström

It no longer makes sense to us, in fact, to keep talking about a “global commons” or about economic “externalities.” These terms for the complex environment “out there” were developed for the old paradigm, where humans and nature were seen as separate entities. Today, in our big world on a small planet, we’re all part of the same commons, and changes in our shared environment—such as the climate system, the ozone layer, or the global hydrological cycle—rebound directly on local economies. In today’s interconnected and environmentally saturated world, there are no externalities. Everything, from finite resources to clean air, forms an integral part of our efforts to generate human wellbeing. That’s why we say there aren’t any global commons any more. Because of the feedbacks generated by the Earth system as we push environmental processes too far, every part of our surroundings has become a personal responsibility for each one of us. A global commons is something that no one owns, and therefore is poorly managed. In the Anthropocene we all “own” every bit of the global commons and have a responsibility for them—because their fate will determine our future.