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Pioneering Planetary Boundaries science as key to mitigating rising planetary risks
https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/pioneering-planetary-boundaries-science-as-key-to-mitigating-rising-planetary-risksPioneering Planetary Boundaries science as key to mitigating rising planetary risks
11/08/2024 - The Planetary Boundaries framework is a pivotal tool for tackling the climate crisis and safeguarding humanity’s future on Earth. For the first time, the full story of the Planetary Boundaries is now being told from its beginning: In a review, researchers highlight the growing influence of the PB framework across disciplines and its impact on society and policy. The article offers a unique overview of how the framework has been adopted across sectors. It also underscores how, 15 years after its initial proposal, PB science has become widely recognised as crucial for advancing the global sustainability agenda in an era of rising planetary risks.
Past and possible future Earth system trajectories. Coloured arrows represent hypothetical trajectories for the co-occuring planetary boundaries on climate change and change in biosphere integrity. (Rockström et al, 2024. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment).
“Monitoring and governing Earth's stability and resilience is no longer optional – it is an urgent necessity to restore Earth’s balance and stay within safe boundaries,“ says Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact research PIK and lead author of the paper. Together with an international team of 28 scientists he first proposed the Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework in 2009. “Thanks to the science of the Planetary Boundaries, we have clear evidence that there is no solution to the climate crisis and no way of holding the 1.5°C boundary, without coming back to the safe operating space within the Biosphere boundaries: biodiversity, water, land, ocean, nutrients, aerosols. We need to consider all boundaries together to safeguard Earth’s health.”
“Understanding our relationship with the planet is a form of empowerment, and the Planetary Boundaries framework provides a clear way to understand how much we are taking from Earth. In this sense, it is essential for guiding the development of sustainable societies,” says Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen, author of the review and of all the PB assessments.
The authors of the review trace the development of the PB framework, describing how evidence of tipping points, the Anthropocene and Holocene led to the proposal of this pioneering holistic model of Earth's health. Today, it provides a scientific basis for guiding global development toward life-supporting conditions akin to those of the Holocene. The PB framework identifies nine global biophysical boundaries that are essential for regulating the Earth system, such as climate change and biosphere integrity. The third update in 2023 not only quantified all boundaries, it also concluded that six of the nine boundaries have been transgressed, highlighting the urgent need for immediate action to mitigate further risks.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s43017-024-00597-z11/08/2024 - The Planetary Boundaries framework is a pivotal tool for tackling the climate crisis and safeguarding humanity’s future on Earth. For the first time, the full story of the Planetary Boundaries is now being told from its beginning: In a review, researchers highlight the growing influence of the PB framework across disciplines and its impact on society and policy. The article offers a unique overview of how the framework has been adopted across sectors. It also underscores how, 15 years after its initial proposal, PB science has become widely recognised as crucial for advancing the global sustainability agenda in an era of rising planetary risks.
Past and possible future Earth system trajectories. Coloured arrows represent hypothetical trajectories for the co-occuring planetary boundaries on climate change and change in biosphere integrity. (Rockström et al, 2024. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment).
“Monitoring and governing Earth's stability and resilience is no longer optional – it is an urgent necessity to restore Earth’s balance and stay within safe boundaries,“ says Johan Rockström, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact research PIK and lead author of the paper. Together with an international team of 28 scientists he first proposed the Planetary Boundaries (PB) framework in 2009. “Thanks to the science of the Planetary Boundaries, we have clear evidence that there is no solution to the climate crisis and no way of holding the 1.5°C boundary, without coming back to the safe operating space within the Biosphere boundaries: biodiversity, water, land, ocean, nutrients, aerosols. We need to consider all boundaries together to safeguard Earth’s health.”
“Understanding our relationship with the planet is a form of empowerment, and the Planetary Boundaries framework provides a clear way to understand how much we are taking from Earth. In this sense, it is essential for guiding the development of sustainable societies,” says Katherine Richardson from the University of Copenhagen, author of the review and of all the PB assessments.
The authors of the review trace the development of the PB framework, describing how evidence of tipping points, the Anthropocene and Holocene led to the proposal of this pioneering holistic model of Earth's health. Today, it provides a scientific basis for guiding global development toward life-supporting conditions akin to those of the Holocene. The PB framework identifies nine global biophysical boundaries that are essential for regulating the Earth system, such as climate change and biosphere integrity. The third update in 2023 not only quantified all boundaries, it also concluded that six of the nine boundaries have been transgressed, highlighting the urgent need for immediate action to mitigate further risks.
…