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Using Generative Art to Convey Past and Future Climate Transitions
Published on: March 31, 2023
Sustainability. Planetary boundaries: guiding human development on a changing planet
Will Steffen1, Katherine Richardson2, Johan Rockström3
1Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, 10691 Stockholm, Sweden. Fenner School of Environment and Society, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia. will.steffen@anu.edu.au.
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.
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