Humans Have Blown Past Key Limits for Earth’s Stability, Scientists Say
New research finds that societies have breached key “planetary boundaries” allowing humanity a safe and just future.
Smoke rises as a fire burns in the Amazon rainforest in this photograph taken above the Candeias do Jamari region of Porto Velho, Rondonia state, Brazil, in 2019.
Photographer: Leonardo Carrato/BloombergA team of scientists first introduced the concept “planetary boundaries” almost 15 years ago to identify major Earth systems that were at risk of instability because of human activity. They looked at systems including the climate, biodiversity and fresh water to determine the limits of what they called a “safe operating space” for civilization. But they stopped short of analyzing how busting past these limits might harm people, particularly the poor and vulnerable.
A major update, published today in the journal Nature, does just that, describing how much punishment nature can absorb before turning on us. Seven of the eight global boundaries have already been surpassed by humans, the authors find.