Nearly 15 years ago, a group of scientists created the phrase “planetary boundaries” to describe the key Earth systems that were liable to instability as a result of human activities.
In order to define the boundaries of what they called a “safe operating space” for civilization, they examined a variety of systems, including the climate, biodiversity, and fresh water. However, they did not examine how exceeding these bounds can hurt people, especially the poor and vulnerable.
It describes how much punishment nature may take before turning against us in a significant update that was just published in the journal Nature. Humans have already exceeded seven of the eight global boundaries, according to the scientists.
“Our results are quite concerning. This means that unless a timely transformation occurs, it is most likely that irreversible tipping points and widespread impacts on human well-being will be unavoidable,” said lead author Prof. Johan Rockstrom, Earth Commission Co-Chair. “The Earth system is in danger many tipping elements are about to cross their tipping points,” said co-author Dahe Qin.
