Obligations in the Anthropocene
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Obligations in the Anthropocene Peter D. Burdon1 Accepted: 16 July 2020 © Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract The Anthropocene is a term described by Earth Systems Science to capture the recent rupture in the history of the Earth where human action has acquired the power to alter the Earth System as a whole. While normative conclusions cannot be logically derived from this descriptive fact, this paper argues that law and philosophy ought to develop responses that are ordered around human beings. Rather than arguing for legal rights or extending rights to nature, this paper focuses on obligations. Drawing on Hans Jonas, it argues that obligations are a more appropriate tool for cultivating human plurality, restraining human action and protecting future generations. Keywords Anthropocene · Earth systems science · Hans Jonas · Legal rights · Obligations · Rights of nature Future historians may need to develop expertise in different parts of 2020. Whether examining climate induced disasters such as the Australian bushfires or COVID-19 they will find evidence of the extraordinary impact human beings are having on the planet. Looking more broadly, data continues to be collated showing that we are contravening planetary boundaries and making irreversible changes to the Earth system. Will Steffen (2020a, b), the former Executive Director of the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme, provided a sobering assessment of our current situation: Given the momentum in both the Earth and human systems, and the growing difference between the ‘reaction time’ needed to steer humanity towards a more sustainable future, and the ‘intervention time’ left to avert a range of catastrophes in both the physical climate system…and the biosphere…we are already deep into the trajectory towards collapse.
* Peter D. Burdon [email protected] 1
Adelaide Law School, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia
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These comments would not have surprised anyone that has chronicled the rapid deterioration of the planet. And yet it is important to underline that Steffen is not giving an update about increased environmental harm. As one of the key scientists whose work has informed our understanding of the Anthropocene, he is articulating his concern that we have entered a new and dangerous phase in the evolution of our planet. A time when human beings became powerful enough to disrupt the biosphere and set off tipping points that cascade for years to come. This is the context in which human action takes place today and it will remain with us regardless of whether the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS) formally adds the Anthropocene to the geological time scale. As noted by the ICS Anthropocene Working Group: ‘The Anthropocene already has a robust geological basis, is in widespread use, and indeed is becoming a central, integrating concept in the consideration of global change’ (Angus 2016, p. 58). Because of its widespread currency, the Anthropocene has also given rise to a
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