Urgent action needed to ensure a safe and just planet for all

A new study shows that to sustain even a basic standard of living for everyone, we need to dramatically change our economic systems and technologies. The research highlights the need to fairly manage, use and share critical resources to ensure that both people and the planet can thrive.

More than 60 scientists from the Earth Commission, an international science group hosted by Future Earth and of which the International Institute of Applied System Analysis (IIASA) in Austria, and the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany are members, contributed to the study. The work builds on previous research, which showed that many of the Earth’s essential limits necessary for the planet to remain stable and for people to live safely – the so-called Earth System Boundaries – have already been exceeded.

In the new study, which was published in The Lancet Planetary Health in September, the researchers focused on the concept of the Safe and Just Space, which refers to the balance where human needs can be met without harming the environment or over-extracting resources. The new work includes the addition of a “foundation” showing us what the global population needs from the Earth system to live a life free from poverty.

“For the first time, scientists have quantified safety and justice using the same units in order to determine the path forward to a stable and resilient future in which we can all thrive,” explains Johan Rockström, Director at PIK.

“Earth's systems are in danger of crossing tipping points, causing further harm unless significant transformations are made to our energy, food and urban systems,” says Caroline Zimm, one of the study authors and a scientist at the IIASA.

Everybody is exposed to the consequences of the damage to the Earth’s system
 

The study highlights that inequality and the overconsumption of resources by a small portion of the global population are major drivers of this shrinking space and that poorer communities which already face the greatest harm from climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are most at risk. No one is, however, safe from the consequences of continued damage to the Earth's systems. Even the wealthy, who might initially feel less impact, are vulnerable in the long run as environmental systems that support life and economies begin to collapse.

“The longer we continue to widen the gap between those who have too much and those who don’t have enough, the more extreme the consequences for all, as the support systems that underpin our way of life, our markets and our economies begin to collapse,” notes study lead author Joyeeta Gupta, former co-chair of the Earth Commission, and Professor at the University of Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

Urgent action is needed
 

To prevent further harm and ensure a stable future, the authors call for urgent action in three key areas:

• Economy and society: governments, businesses, and communities need to work together to create policies that reduce inequality while lowering the pressure on the planet.
• Resource management: resources need to be shared more fairly and efficiently.
• Sustainable technologies: we need more investment in sustainable technologies that use fewer resources and reopen the shrinking Safe and Just Space.

“Cities and businesses are especially well-positioned to lead these efforts as they have the flexibility to lead the transformation towards positive tipping in human systems to avoid negative tipping of the Earth system. By setting science-based targets and focusing on improving efficiency and sufficiency in the use of planetary resources and Earth-systems services, they can play a key role in achieving a safe and just future for all,” says study co-author and IIASA Distinguished Emeritus Research Scholar Nebojsa Nakicenovic.

The authors conclude that the only path to a sustainable and fair future lies in reducing inequality and transforming how we use the Earth's resources, and that if we act now, it is still possible to ensure that everyone on the planet escapes poverty and is protected from harm caused by environmental changes.

(IAASA/PIK/wi)

Reference:

Gupta, J., Bai, X., Liverman, D.M., Rockström, J., Qin, D., Stewart-Koster, B., Rocha, J.C., Jacobson, L., et al. (2024). A just world on a safe planet: a Lancet Planetary Health–Earth Commission report on Earth-system boundaries, translations, and transformations. The Lancet Planetary Health; September 2024; DOI: 10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00042-1

See also first study by the same team of scientists: “Safe and just Earth System Boundaries”