The Suitability of the Proposed Global Pact for the Environment in the Changing Earth Conditions of the Anthropocene.

Abstract

The Anthropocene and its major hypotheses reveal that in IEL there is limited appreciation that humans have begun to impact on Earth systems in their entirety. Following this, a basic proposal is made about the ability of IEL to manage the relationship between human activities and the impact that these have on the global Earth system. This reveals some general issues relating to governance in the Anthropocene and then to four features and principles of IEL that are particularly relevant for the Anthropocene; the proposed Planetary Boundaries Framework, sustainable development, fragmentation in IEL, and ecological integrity. This discussion is used to propose features of a Global Pact for the Environment which build upon the preceding analysis to provide a Pact that would be suited to governing the human impacts on the Earth system in the Anthropocene.