Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity
"Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing...
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
2009
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10535/5421 |
id |
ftdlc:oai:http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu:10535/5421 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdlc:oai:http://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu:10535/5421 2023-05-15T17:52:13+02:00 Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity Rockstr??m, Johan Steffen, Will Noone, Kevin Persson, ??sa Chapin, F. Stuart Lambin, Eric Lenton, Timothy M. Scheffer, Marten Folke, Carl Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim Nykvist, Bj??rn de Wit, Cynthia A. Hughes, Terry van der Leeuw, Sander Rodhe, Henning S??rlin, Sverker Snyder, Peter K. Costanza, Robert Svedin, Uno Falkenmark, Malin Karlberg, Louise Corell, Robert W. Fabry, Victoria J. Hansen, James Walker, Brian H. Liverman, Diana Richardson, Katherine Crutzen, Paul Foley, Jonathan 2009 http://hdl.handle.net/10535/5421 English eng http://hdl.handle.net/10535/5421 Ecology and Society 14 2 unknown biodiversity sustainability human behavior climate change water management General & Multiple Resources Global Commons Journal Article published Case Study 2009 ftdlc 2021-03-11T16:17:38Z "Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration in the atmosphere <350 ppm and/or a maximum change of +1 W m-2 in radiative forcing); ocean acidification (mean surface seawater saturation state with respect to aragonite ?? 80% of pre-industrial levels); stratospheric ozone (<5% reduction in O3 concentration from pre-industrial level of 290 Dobson Units); biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle (limit industrial and agricultural fixation of N2 to 35 Tg N yr-1) and phosphorus (P) cycle (annual P inflow to oceans not to exceed 10 times the natural background weathering of P); global freshwater use (<4000 km3 yr-1 of consumptive use of runoff resources); land system change (<15% of the ice-free land surface under cropland); and the rate at which biological diversity is lost (annual rate of <10 extinctions per million species). The two additional planetary boundaries for which we have not yet been able to determine a boundary level are chemical pollution and atmospheric aerosol loading. We estimate that humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss, and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. Planetary boundaries are interdependent, because transgressing one may both shift the position of other boundaries or cause them to be transgressed. The social impacts of transgressing boundaries will be a function of the social???ecological resilience of the affected societies. Our proposed boundaries are rough, first estimates only, surrounded by large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Filling these gaps will require major advancements in Earth System and resilience science. The proposed concept of 'planetary boundaries' lays the groundwork for shifting our approach to governance and management, away from the essentially sectoral analyses of limits to growth aimed at minimizing negative externalities, toward the estimation of the safe space for human development. Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the 'planetary playing field' for humanity if we want to be sure of avoiding major human-induced environmental change on a global scale." Article in Journal/Newspaper Ocean acidification Indiana University: Digital Library of the Commons (DLC) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Indiana University: Digital Library of the Commons (DLC) |
op_collection_id |
ftdlc |
language |
English |
topic |
biodiversity sustainability human behavior climate change water management General & Multiple Resources Global Commons |
spellingShingle |
biodiversity sustainability human behavior climate change water management General & Multiple Resources Global Commons Rockstr??m, Johan Steffen, Will Noone, Kevin Persson, ??sa Chapin, F. Stuart Lambin, Eric Lenton, Timothy M. Scheffer, Marten Folke, Carl Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim Nykvist, Bj??rn de Wit, Cynthia A. Hughes, Terry van der Leeuw, Sander Rodhe, Henning S??rlin, Sverker Snyder, Peter K. Costanza, Robert Svedin, Uno Falkenmark, Malin Karlberg, Louise Corell, Robert W. Fabry, Victoria J. Hansen, James Walker, Brian H. Liverman, Diana Richardson, Katherine Crutzen, Paul Foley, Jonathan Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
topic_facet |
biodiversity sustainability human behavior climate change water management General & Multiple Resources Global Commons |
description |
"Anthropogenic pressures on the Earth System have reached a scale where abrupt global environmental change can no longer be excluded. We propose a new approach to global sustainability in which we define planetary boundaries within which we expect that humanity can operate safely. Transgressing one or more planetary boundaries may be deleterious or even catastrophic due to the risk of crossing thresholds that will trigger non-linear, abrupt environmental change within continental- to planetary-scale systems. We have identified nine planetary boundaries and, drawing upon current scientific understanding, we propose quantifications for seven of them. These seven are climate change (CO2 concentration in the atmosphere <350 ppm and/or a maximum change of +1 W m-2 in radiative forcing); ocean acidification (mean surface seawater saturation state with respect to aragonite ?? 80% of pre-industrial levels); stratospheric ozone (<5% reduction in O3 concentration from pre-industrial level of 290 Dobson Units); biogeochemical nitrogen (N) cycle (limit industrial and agricultural fixation of N2 to 35 Tg N yr-1) and phosphorus (P) cycle (annual P inflow to oceans not to exceed 10 times the natural background weathering of P); global freshwater use (<4000 km3 yr-1 of consumptive use of runoff resources); land system change (<15% of the ice-free land surface under cropland); and the rate at which biological diversity is lost (annual rate of <10 extinctions per million species). The two additional planetary boundaries for which we have not yet been able to determine a boundary level are chemical pollution and atmospheric aerosol loading. We estimate that humanity has already transgressed three planetary boundaries: for climate change, rate of biodiversity loss, and changes to the global nitrogen cycle. Planetary boundaries are interdependent, because transgressing one may both shift the position of other boundaries or cause them to be transgressed. The social impacts of transgressing boundaries will be a function of the social???ecological resilience of the affected societies. Our proposed boundaries are rough, first estimates only, surrounded by large uncertainties and knowledge gaps. Filling these gaps will require major advancements in Earth System and resilience science. The proposed concept of 'planetary boundaries' lays the groundwork for shifting our approach to governance and management, away from the essentially sectoral analyses of limits to growth aimed at minimizing negative externalities, toward the estimation of the safe space for human development. Planetary boundaries define, as it were, the boundaries of the 'planetary playing field' for humanity if we want to be sure of avoiding major human-induced environmental change on a global scale." |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Rockstr??m, Johan Steffen, Will Noone, Kevin Persson, ??sa Chapin, F. Stuart Lambin, Eric Lenton, Timothy M. Scheffer, Marten Folke, Carl Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim Nykvist, Bj??rn de Wit, Cynthia A. Hughes, Terry van der Leeuw, Sander Rodhe, Henning S??rlin, Sverker Snyder, Peter K. Costanza, Robert Svedin, Uno Falkenmark, Malin Karlberg, Louise Corell, Robert W. Fabry, Victoria J. Hansen, James Walker, Brian H. Liverman, Diana Richardson, Katherine Crutzen, Paul Foley, Jonathan |
author_facet |
Rockstr??m, Johan Steffen, Will Noone, Kevin Persson, ??sa Chapin, F. Stuart Lambin, Eric Lenton, Timothy M. Scheffer, Marten Folke, Carl Schellnhuber, Hans Joachim Nykvist, Bj??rn de Wit, Cynthia A. Hughes, Terry van der Leeuw, Sander Rodhe, Henning S??rlin, Sverker Snyder, Peter K. Costanza, Robert Svedin, Uno Falkenmark, Malin Karlberg, Louise Corell, Robert W. Fabry, Victoria J. Hansen, James Walker, Brian H. Liverman, Diana Richardson, Katherine Crutzen, Paul Foley, Jonathan |
author_sort |
Rockstr??m, Johan |
title |
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
title_short |
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
title_full |
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
title_fullStr |
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
title_full_unstemmed |
Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity |
title_sort |
planetary boundaries: exploring the safe operating space for humanity |
publishDate |
2009 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10535/5421 |
genre |
Ocean acidification |
genre_facet |
Ocean acidification |
op_relation |
http://hdl.handle.net/10535/5421 Ecology and Society 14 2 unknown |
_version_ |
1766159604332363776 |