Environmental limits and Swiss footprints based on Planetary Boundaries

• Main Authors: Dao, Quoc-Hy, Peduzzi, Pascal, Chatenoux, Bruno, De Bono, Andréa, Schwarzer, Stefan, Friot, Damien
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Published: Swiss Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN) 2015
• Subjects: info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/333.7-333.9; info:eu-repo/classification/ddc/910; Planetary Boundaries; Green economy; National footprints; Switzerland; Ocean acidification
• Online Access: https://archive-ouverte.unige.ch/unige:74873

The goal of this study is to develop recommendations for a set of footprint limits for a Green Economy, by translating the environmental limits of our planet (“Planetary Boundaries”) to the context of Swiss demand (i.e. consumption). The proposed limit values serve as a rough orientation on a sustainable level of resource consumption from a scientific point of view; they are not meant as directly applicable political targets. We conclude that Switzerland should, as a priority, act on its footprints related to Climate Change, Ocean Acidification, Biodiversity Loss and Nitrogen Losses. This suggestion is based on the importance of these environmental processes for the good functioning of the global Earth system, the current global pressure on them as well as on the Swiss contribution to these pressures.