PLANETARY BOUNDARIES
It's Changing — Climate Change and the Limits of a Safe Operating Space
The Planetary Boundaries framework defines Earth's safe operating space across nine interconnected systems. Six are already transgressed. Crossing any one risks cascading tipping points — and finance must price that.
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The 9 boundaries (2023 update, Richardson et al.): climate, biosphere integrity, land-system change, freshwater, biogeochemical flows, ocean acidification, aerosols, ozone (recovering), novel entities.
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Six of nine are transgressed. Climate, biosphere, and biogeochemical flows are pervasive amplifiers.
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Doughnut Economics (Raworth) integrates social foundations (inner ring) with PB (outer ring) — the safe zone is the doughnut between them.
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PB was originally proposed in 2009 (Rockström et al.); critically updated in 2015 and 2023.
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Finance mechanisms addressing PB: voluntary/compliance carbon markets, green bonds, payments for ecosystem services, blockchain-verified credits.
"How do you quantify that value? And how would you get a price for it? It isn't a scientific question that can get a straightforward scientific answer, at least not always."
Sverker Sörlin · Ph.D.
Distinguished Professor · KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm
"Quantifying is challenging but doable when it comes to monetization. But in some contexts, you don't have a market for a particular service. How do you quantify that value? It isn't a scientific question that can get a straightforward scientific answer."