Climate Heritage of Humanity

The relatively stable functioning pattern of the Earth System that emerged in the Holocene, as the intangible common heritage of Humanity

Abstract

In 2021, the Portuguese Climate Law enshrined in its Article 15, f), the objective of recognizing the Stable Climate as a Common Heritage of Humanity with the United Nations. This innovative objective made Portugal the first country in the world to meet consolidated scientific evidence, and to recognize that Planet Earth is not just a territory of 510 million km², but is essentially endowed with a functional system capable of provide a relatively stable climate, allowing biophysical conditions favorable for the flourishing of human civilizations to be brought together, as has occurred over the 11,700 years of the Holocene epoch. The need to distinguish the “Static Territory” in relation to the “Functional System” was later identified in the latest report of the United Nations International Law Commission (CDI) for the period 2021-2029, which states: “The atmosphere and airspace are two different concepts, which must be distinguished. (...) The atmosphere, as the “envelope of gases” that surrounds the Earth, is dynamic and fluctuating, with gases in constant movement, without taking into account territorial borders. (...) The atmosphere is invisible, intangible and non-separable”, assuming the distinction between the “functional aspect” and the “static and spatial institution over which the State, in its territory, has total and exclusive sovereignty”. By analogous reasoning, the same distinction must be made between, on the one hand, the biochemical composition of seawater and the global circulation of the oceans and, on the other, the maritime spaces under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of States. This distinction, between the “common functional system” and the static sovereign territory, has profound implications for the way we combat climate change, guarantee the preservation of biodiversity and organize human societies in their relationship with the planet we inhabit and depend on.