Preventing Global Catastrophes

Abstract

To prevent global catastrophes that would cause irreversible and enormous damage to the humanity and environment, we should not expect that only philanthropy and tacit collusion suffice without taking any measures. While global citizens are under a lack of strong coercive power, it is necessary to carefully design explicit negotiation procedures that make effective use of the limited social order. In doing so, it is necessary to design institutional rules that are robust against unforeseen circumstances where many citizens happen to be irrational and adhere to uncooperative attitudes. We show a possibility that, under a constraint of sovereignty protection, there are commitment rules in a global negotiation forum that can uniquely elicit incentives for cooperative behavior from agents while coping with such unforeseen circumstances.