In the article linked here, it is clear that many corporations view water as a commodity they can own and exploit, and that "no human has a right to water". As Planetary CFO, my view on this is that no corporation has a right to exploit water. A great deal of the water on the planet (but not all of it) falls into the asset category of Global Commons. As such, no person or corporation can actually have absolute rights of ownership of the water but we should allow certain rights to be obtained, for purposes that don't damage the ability to maintain sustainable water cycles on a planetary basis. Think of it like leasing - a right to borrow the water for a period of time - with the ultimate ownership residing with the global body responsible for the World Balance Sheet. The global body doesn't exist yet, so one of the early recommendations of the Planetary CFO is for people to start looking at bodies with global responsibilities, rights and powers, with a view to finding an existing one, or setting up a new one, that can start becoming the custodian of the World Balance Sheet. In the absence of such a body, companies will continue to acquire water. Some will manage this resource responsibly and will maintain or enhance sustainability of water cycles. Many others will damage water cycles. The World Balance Sheet will contain inventories of all assets comprising the Global Commons, including detailed supporting lists, inventories or estimates of water held by all organisations, over a de minimis level. This will create transparency to help illuminate who is maintaining the Global Commons and who is damaging them. A principle established by the Planetary CFO is that those who damage the Global Commons need to be held to account, for example using the device of eco-taxes to ensure that they pay an appropriate sum for the damage caused. The eco-taxes will be used to repair the damage. Eventually, the Planetary CFO will influence changes in global property rights. Under these new rights, people and corporations will only be able to lease/borrow water for the most part, paying a suitable sum (to the custodian body of the World Balance Sheet) for those rights. For individuals, the cost of water for drinking will be very low because they borrow only small quantities for very short periods of time, after which almost all of it returns to the water cycle. For companies who borrow large quantities for long periods of time, the 'leasing' cost to be paid will be high. Companies that change the water (chemically) into something else will only be allowed to do so if the aggregate of all such uses by all such companies does not make the global water cycle unsustainable. Eco-taxes could be used to ensure pricing signals drive corporate behaviours towards sustainable water extraction and use. The aim is to maintain water inventories in the World Balance Sheet in terms of quantities and also availability to humans for drinking etc - largely through geographical distributional analysis - and that these inventories are consistent with the continued sustainability of the water cycles on a global basis.
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About the BloggerI'm David Calver - an Accountant with a passion for sustainability. Categories
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