Science· 2015Q1· Review
Planetary boundaries: Guiding human development on a changing planet
- 12,253citations
- Q1SCImago
- 2015year
Short summary
The planetary boundaries framework, which defines a safe operating space for humanity based on Earth's biophysical processes, has been updated with a focus on scientific advances over the past five years.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Key points
- The planetary boundaries framework has been revised based on recent scientific advances.
- Several boundaries now feature a two-tier approach to account for scale and regional variations.
- Climate change and biosphere integrity are identified as critical boundaries that could destabilize the Earth system.
- The framework aims to guide humanity's development within a safe operating space.
AI-generated from the title and abstract; the full text is not read.
Abstract
The planetary boundaries framework defines a safe operating space for humanity based on the intrinsic biophysical processes that regulate the stability of the Earth system. Here, we revise and update the planetary boundary framework, with a focus on the underpinning biophysical science, based on targeted input from expert research communities and on more general scientific advances over the past 5 years. Several of the boundaries now have a two-tier approach, reflecting the importance of cross-scale interactions and the regional-level heterogeneity of the processes that underpin the boundaries. Two core boundaries—climate change and biosphere integrity—have been identified, each of which has the potential on its own to drive the Earth system into a new state should they be substantially and persistently transgressed.
The authors' abstract, as published at the source. Science, 2015 · DOI ↗
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Field: Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment
Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the EnvironmentEnergy