A Constitution of Earth
Securing the earth and its biosphere as the foundation of all rights.
The Constitution of Earth was symbolically founded on 5 February 2023 at Unternehmen Mitte in Basel. Around 200 participants gathered on site and online, from countries across the globe.
OUT NOW — 23 JULY 2026
This Is Not an Opinion — Why the Earth Must Come Before Politics
The ideas behind the Constitution of Earth, now as a book. Published one
year to the day after the International Court of Justice confirmed that
states have binding legal obligations to protect the climate system, it
lays out the missing architecture: planetary guardrails with measurable
limits, automatic triggers, and institutions under judicial oversight —
an Earth Council, an Earth Bank, a Biosphere Inspectorate, a Biosphere Court.
"This brave new book offers a clear and compelling vision of what needs
to be done." — David R. Boyd, former UN Special Rapporteur on the right
to a healthy environment
About the book & sample chapter
→ Link: https://www.donaldjacob.ch/this-is-not-an-opinion
VOICES for the Book "This is not an opinion"
"Democracy, the global economy and most importantly the web of life that
sustains us all are on life support. Neither going backwards nor tinkering
around the edges can save us. We desperately need to replace the failed
systems that have led us to this precipice. Donald Jacob's brave new book
offers a clear and compelling vision of what needs to be done."
— David R. Boyd, former UN Special Rapporteur on the right to a healthy
environment; Professor of Law, Policy, and Sustainability, University of
British Columbia
"There is an ever-increasing gap between scientific warnings about the
planetary crisis and political action. This book makes a compelling case
for an Earth constitution. A must read for anyone caring for our common
future."
— Klaus Bosselmann, New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law, University
of Auckland
"A bold call for the election of a necessary guardrail, a Constitution for
the Earth, by the children of the Earth. Donald Jacob has taken up the
onerous task of waking a world pretending to be asleep in a cascading
polycrisis."
— Nnimmo Bassey, author of "To Cook a Continent" (gekürzt; Volltext auf
donaldjacob.ch/this-is-not-an-opinion)
The Constitution
The Constitution of Earth recognises the biosphere as the highest-ranking protected good. No world parliament, no eco-dictatorship, no end to national sovereignty — a democratic upgrade for a finite planet: a framework that states, regions, cities, and organisations can voluntarily adopt into their own legal systems.
It establishes:
– independent institutions representing the interests of the biosphere;
– binding scientific review of decisions with major ecological impact;
– legal standing for qualified civil-society actors to act on behalf of the biosphere.
The full draft is available on the Constitution of Earth page; the complete architecture is laid out in the book This Is Not an Opinion.
Who
The Constitution of Earth was founded on 5 February 2023 at Unternehmen Mitte in Basel — symbolically, with around 200 participants on site and online. It was initiated by Donald C. Jacob, artist, landscape architect, ecologist, and author (donaldjacob.ch). Accompanying publications: This Is Not an Opinion (Earth Governance Press, 2026); Eine Verfassung für die Erde (oekom, 2022); Die Erde als Partner (BoD, 2026).
Status
This site is a living archive. It documents the constitutional draft and keeps the conversation open: substantive feedback from public law, environmental law, constitutional law, Earth system science, and democratic theory flows into future versions.
Contact: mail@constitutionofearth.org
Support the Constitution of Earth
The Constitution of Earth is carried by a registered non-profit association
in Switzerland. Donations fund the website, the newsletter, translations,
and public events.
Verein Constitution of Earth
IBAN: CH87 8080 8005 4512 2810 9
Thank YOU
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