An alarming check-up: Six Planetary boundaries transgressed

Updated: May 20, 2024

“Earth is now well outside of the safe operating space for humanity”.

These are the striking words taken from the third major update to the Planetary Boundary

framework published in the last week. According to the framework, it identifies six of the

nine processes that are critical to regulating the stability and resilience of the earth are at

increased or high risk of causing systemic disruption to the planet.

This research is that of an alarming, yet unsurprising, finding. Despite a great deal of

environmental rhetoric across institutions, insufficient action continues to condemn us to

the reality of a dangerously unstable earth. Furthermore, I would question people’s

knowledge of these boundaries – outside of climate change do the other boundaries receive

enough lip service and media attention? If there is a lack of knowledge on such subjects how

are electorates and shareholders meant to vote in ways that enforce mitigation and

adaption to the world we are faced with?

Admittedly, transgressing boundaries doesn’t indicate an instant perishing of the earth’s

natural systems. However, they do represent increased risk of systemic planetary change.

Think of it as going to the doctors and finding out you have high blood pressure; it increases

the risk of other health issues. Instead of just tucking this information away as tomorrow’s

problem, we need to take preventative action as you would if your health was in question-

ironically along with rest of the global population it is!

How much so? Well, that depends where you are. Despite being Planetary boundaries, the

effects of transgressing them will vary greatly regionally. The World Bank refers to Climate

change as being “deeply intertwined with global patterns of inequality”, alluding to the fact

that poor and vulnerable people bear the brunt of climate change’s impacts whilst

contributing to it the least.

In the coming weeks I hope to cover case studies of how exceeding different boundaries

effects different people around the world and the social injustices that lie beneath the

surface. More importantly I will explore options within mitigation and adaptation for these

communities.

The central idea of the Planetary Boundary framework is the “Safe operating space” for

human life, we as a species are living well outside that. Many see efforts to be

environmentally friendly as an undue inconvenience – but in reality, it is our future within

the environment which is in jeopardy. If we are to stick around, we need to stop ignoring

the recommendations of our environmental check-up and start taking our medicine.

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