Background 

Human activities are challenging what have been termed the nine “planetary boundaries”: climate change, the rate of biodiversity loss (terrestrial and marine), interference with the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, stratospheric ozone depletion, ocean acidification, global freshwater use, change in land use, chemical pollution, and atmospheric aerosol loading.  In this regard, recent literature has provided evidence that six of these planetary boundaries have been transgressed since 2015. Ocean acidification is also approaching its limit while several regional climate tipping points have already been crossed. 

Although this data demonstrates that the resilience and stability of the Earth’s system are at high risk, scholars have rarely advanced new categories or rethought existing ones to face new challenges that the climate crisis will bring in the near future. To address this gap, 4PLANET analyses whether our democracies are equipped with principles and legal/political categories able to navigate the climate crisis, and if they have the necessary instruments to prevent faster and less democratic solutions from being preferred to manage climate emergencies.  

About the project 

The 4PLANET project aims to rethink and decolonize existing legal/political categories to tackle current and future challenges caused by the climate crisis. It does so through the construction of a planetary contract informed by environmental justice principles and a gender-sensitive approach. These lenses will ensure the equal distribution of scarce resources, the protection of the most vulnerable groups, and the governance of climate-induced migration and displacement. These latter are selected as concrete examples of structural phenomena able to challenge our Western lexicon and forms of power. The main research question that this project aims to answer is: How can any forum for democratic decision-making be sustained to design a planetary contract? To answer this question, 4PLANET will investigate South Tyrol’s initiative concerning the Consiglio dei cittadini per il Clima/ Klimabürgerrat [Citizens Assembly for Climate] established by the Piano Clima Alto Adige 2040/ KlimaPlan Südtirol 2040 [Climate Plan South Tyrol 2040] and Vorarlberg’s Bürgerrat Klima-Zukunft [Citizens Assembly for Climate] as pilot cases to be scaled up at the global level. As for the methodology, 4PLANET adopts a socio-legal qualitative approach and combines a document-based analysis and semi-structured interviews. 

Funding

The project “Legal Tools for Democracies in the Climate Crisis: A proposal for a Planetary Contract (4PLANET)” is funded by the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Bozen – South Tyrol – Decree: 14978/2024 - CUP: D53C2400128000. 

For further information 

Francesca Rosignoli – francesca.rosignoli@eurac.edu