Planetary Boundaries: A brief introduction

The Planetary Boundaries framework describes nine, critical, interdependent Earth System processes that contribute to maintaining a stable and resilient Earth System as a whole.

Transgressing the boundaries brings the system out of balance, with dire consequences for human health and well-being. The latest update from 2023 showed transgressions for six out of the nine boundaries: climate change, biogeochemical flows, biosphere integrity, land-system change, novel entities, and freshwater. Since the boundaries interact, policies aiming to address climate change will have limited success without addressing the other boundaries as well. In this brief, we give a short, guided introduction to the planetary boundaries framework. We describe the control variables, the potential impacts of transgressing the boundaries, and the evolution of the planetary boundaries framework itself since its inception in 2009.

Relaterede emner