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 one-or 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.