"Navigating Cascading Planetary Boundaries: A Framework to Secure the Future" ...

• Main Author: Cernev, Tom
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: unknown
• Published: Stanford Digital Repository 2023
• Subjects: planetary boundaries; cascading risk; sustainability; global catastrophic risk; climate change; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25740/ww663gw1454; https://purl.stanford.edu/ww663gw1454

This paper examines the potential cascading effects into society of transgressed Planetary Boundaries. This paper provides a literature review of the Planetary Boundaries (climate change, novel entities, stratospheric ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol loading, ocean acidification, biogeochemical flows, freshwater use, land-system change, and biosphere integrity), including an analysis of humanity’s current position within each of the Earth systems. Using this, the potential for cascades across Planetary Boundaries, and from transgressed Planetary Boundaries into society is investigated. Extensive cascades exist, and agriculture and food security found to be at risk. It is investigated how the cascades through society could lead to increased Global Catastrophic Risk, and found that transgressed Planetary Boundaries have the potential to exacerbate known Global Catastrophic Risk (e.g. Weapons of Mass Destruction), and may lead to new and unforeseen Global Catastrophic Risks (e.g. as a result of the ...