The Global Commons - Policy for the Planet
Four enormous physical environments, still mostly unexplored, are treated in international law and custom as parts of a "global commons." Outer space, the atmosphere, the oceans, and Antarctica belong to no oneóor to everybody at once. This emerging concept is powerful not only metaphorically, but it can also have a practical influence on national economic and social priorities, the strategies of international business, and the governance of our global environments.