BSR Insight | Planetary Boundaries: How Far Can We Go?
In a new report by the Stockholm Resilience Centre, scientists assert that to avoid catastrophic environmental change, humanity must stay within defined "planetary boundaries" for nine essential Earth-system processes: climate change, stratospheric ozone, land-use change, freshwater use, biological diversity, ocean acidification, nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the biosphere and oceans, aerosol loading, and chemical pollution.
Exceeding one of the boundaries could trigger disastrous environmental change, and the report suggests that we have already moved beyond three of the boundaries related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and the nitrogen cycle.
By defining a "safe planetary operating space" for sustainable development, this report could impact decision-making processes, particularly on environmental governance and management frameworks.
To learn more about the implications for business, read the article BSR published last year by the Stockholm Environment Institute's Robert Watt, or attend the BSR Conference 2009 session "Climate Action Initiative," which will be led by one of the report's authors.
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