"States have neglected the environmental aspects of their fiduciary duty," said Erasmus Mundus Visiting Scholar Klaus Bosselmann. He went on to note that the greatest threat to humanity today is not terrorism, but climate change. Despite the threat that climate change poses, there is no sense of urgency among the public – or among the negotiators who will be gathering for the COP21 meeting in Paris next week. Bosselmann, who is a professor of law at the University of Auckland and the founding director of the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law, argued that what is needed is a fundamentally new way of thinking about the global commons – the oceans, atmosphere, and biosphere.
During his timely presentation at the School of Public Policy on November 25, Bosselmann provided compelling evidence to demonstrate how the current state-focused governance structures have led to enormous income inequalities in the ownership of land and resources. In addition, because states only feel a sense of stewardship or guardianship over what they own, they have largely neglected the land that they don't own – and the air and water that they can't own. Bosselmann said that it was all of us living today and those "who come after us" who own "nature and mother earth." What we lack is a way to assert our ownership rights.
In his presentation, Bosselmann offered "an ambitious, yet well-researched and convincing case, for trusteeship governance." He proposed that the UN work with states to develop the laws and institutions that would protect the earth for current and future generations. Bosselmann noted that the idea of having legal structures in place to protect common spaces is not new: common trusts have existed for centuries. The Magna Carta (1215) and the Charter of the Forest (1217), for example, mention the common rights of the forest. Over the centuries, however, these common rights have been ignored as states have focused instead on harnessing their natural resources for economic gain. In the process, they have put in place economic and financial power structures that, according to Bosselmann, "overpower any sense of morality."
Noting that concern for the global commons unifies humanity, Bosselmann argued that the United Nations could and should work with states to develop effective mechanisms that would enable trusteeship of the global commons.
Watch the full lecture below.