{"id":26839,"date":"2023-06-04T13:28:33","date_gmt":"2023-06-04T20:28:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=26839"},"modified":"2023-06-04T13:28:34","modified_gmt":"2023-06-04T20:28:34","slug":"planet-earth-is-quite-sick-7-of-8-boundaries-for-safe-and-just-world-already-breached-study-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/06\/04\/planet-earth-is-quite-sick-7-of-8-boundaries-for-safe-and-just-world-already-breached-study-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Planet Earth Is ‘Quite Sick’: 7 of 8 Boundaries for Safe and Just World Already Breached, Study Says"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A man tries to cool off in New Delhi, India on May 23, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0(Photo: Kabir Jhangiani\/NurPhoto via Getty Images)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Nothing less than a just global transformation… is required to ensure human well-being,” researchers wrote.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

KENNY STANCIL<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jun 01, 2023 (CommonDreams.org)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Earth were to get an annual health checkup akin to a person’s physical exam, a doctor would say the planet is “really quite sick right now.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s how Joyeeta Gupta, professor of environment and development at the University of Amsterdam, put it<\/a> at a Wednesday press conference accompanying the publication of new research<\/a> in the peer-reviewed journal Nature<\/em>. Co-authored by Gupta and 50 other scientists from around the world, it warns that nearly every threshold for a “safe and just” planet has already been breached and pleads for swift action to protect “the global commons for all people now and into the future.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Carbon Brief <\/em>reported<\/a>: “The new study develops the idea of ‘planetary boundaries<\/a>,’ first set out in an influential 2009 paper. The paper had defined a set of interlinked thresholds that it said would ensure a ‘safe operating space for humanity.’ Its authors had warned that crossing these thresholds ‘could have disastrous consequences.'”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“We cannot have a biophysically safe planet without justice.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new paper, written by many of the same people, introduces justice considerations into the framework, leading the authors to propose a set of “safe and just” Earth system boundaries (ESBs) at global and sub-global scales, some of which are stricter than the “safe” limits outlined previously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For the first time, we present quantifiable numbers and a solid scientific foundation to assess the state of our planetary health not only in terms of Earth system stability and resilience but also in terms of human well-being and equity\/justice,” said<\/a> lead author Johan Rockstr\u00f6m, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interdisciplinary team focused on five of the nine planetary systems identified in 2009\u2014climate, biosphere, water, nutrient cycles, and atmosphere. To determine the health of these systems, they relied on the following eight measurable indicators:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. Global mean surface temperature change since the pre-industrial era (climate);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. Natural ecosystem area (biosphere);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. Functional integrity (biosphere);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. Surface water flows (water);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  5. Groundwater levels (water);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  6. Nitrogen (nutrient cycles);<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  7. Phosphorous (nutrient cycles); and<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  8. Aerosol loading (atmosphere).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    As Phys.org<\/em>reported<\/a>: “Safe boundaries ensure stable and resilient conditions on Earth, and use an interglacial Holocene-like Earth system functioning as a reference point for a healthy planet. A stable and resilient Earth is dominated by balancing feedbacks that cope with buffer and dampen disturbances. Cutting-edge science on climate tipping points features as one major line of evidence to set safe boundaries.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    To establish “just” boundaries for each indicator, the authors assessed the conditions needed to avert “significant harm,” which they defined as “widespread severe existential or irreversible negative impacts on countries, communities, and individuals from Earth system change, such as loss of lives, livelihoods, or incomes; displacement; loss of food, water, or nutritional security; and chronic disease, injury, or malnutrition.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    As summarized by Carbon Brief<\/em>, the researchers took into account the following justice criteria:<\/p>\n\n\n\n