Earth steward: Will Steffen's contributions to Earth System Science, governance and law

• Main Authors: Boonstra, W.J., Magalhães, P., Preston, B. J., Rockström, J. Taylor
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2023
• Subjects: Earth Sciences
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/sol_research/4294; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/context/sol_research/article/6252/viewcontent/s13280_023_01867_8.pdf
• Institution: Singapore Management University

In January 2023, the world lost one of its most influential environmental scientists, Will Steffen. Recognised by his peers as the ‘Father of Earth System Science’, Steffen exemplified the ethic of planetary stewardship (Stockholm Resilience Centre 2023; Fig. 1). This ethic was especially evident, not only in Steffen’s scholarship, but also in his contributions to creating institutions that respect the reality of a single integrated Earth System and aim to govern human behaviour accordingly (Steffen 2016). This article commemorates Will Steffen’s scientific work in Earth System Science, and places it in the larger context of his contributions to governance and law.