Planetary Boundaries for Policymakers
There are thousands of policies from global to local addressing various Planetary Boundaries. However, without taking a whole Earth approach to decision making, we cannot deliver comprehensive planetary stewardship.
Below are some of the notable policy resources and initiatives that align with Planetary Boundaries science. This list is not exhaustive and we will keep adding to it as the Planetary Health Check evolves.
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The Montreal Protocol
Proof that policy change is a powerful tool in reversing negative shifts in our Planetary Boundaries. In 1987, a global agreement known as the Montreal Protocol was reached which led to the phasing out of ozone depleting substances such as CFCs and HCFCs. This resulted in a reduction of the holes in the ozone layer. The Ozone Boundary's status has improved and is now back within the safe operating space.
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Yale Center for the Study of Globalization
YSCG have developed a series of matrices to guide policy decisions on best practices or policy frameworks to consider in order to positively influence state-level variables such as air, water and land pollution, biosphere integrity, and climate change.
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The Global Commons Stewardship Framework
The Global Commons Stewardship Framework provides a holistic approach to managing and protecting shared natural resources like the atmosphere, oceans, and polar regions. It emphasizes integrated management, international collaboration, and governance involving diverse stakeholders to achieve four core systems transformations: Decarbonization of energy use, circular production and consumption, sustainable cities and communities, and transformation of food, land, and ocean use.
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The GCSF builds on existing science and policy initiatives:
It aligns with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on equitable resource access and distribution, particularly for marginalized groups
It advocates for the use of scientific research and technological innovations to support evidence-based decisions
It encourages adaptive management practices to respond to changing conditions
It aims to ensure the sustainable and fair use of global commons for current and future generations.
It directly addresses the challenges posed by PBs through its emphasis on coordinated global action to safeguard critical Earth system functions.
For policymakers this means the GCSF is easily translated into action agendas for governments, business and finance, civil society organizations and multi stakeholder coalitions as well as international organizations and financing institutions.
The GCSF was developed by:
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Global Transformations Required
The GCSF build on previous assessments that all align on the need for global transformations:
SDSN
The Sustainable Solutions Development Network identified six major transformations required to deliver the SDGs while staying within planetary boundaries
Earth4All
The Earth4All initiative of the Club of Rome identifies five turnarounds required for an equitable future within planetary boundaries
FSEC
The Food Systems Economics Commission (FSEC) shows that a global food systems transformation is required to meet people and planet requirements
Climate Governance Commission
The Climate Governance Commision is working to co-create innovative approaches to our global climate and planetary challenges.
Governance of Planetary Boundaries
Existing conventions and frameworks already play a significant role in protecting aspects of the planetary boundaries:
UNFCCC
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992) provides a framework for international climate action, with key agreements like the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement setting targets for emission reductions and global temperature limits.
UNCCD
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD, 1994) focuses on combating desertification and land degradation in dry regions through sustainable land management.
CBD
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD, 1992) aims to conserve biodiversity, promote sustainable use, and ensure fair benefit-sharing from genetic resources, with protocols on biosafety and access to genetic resources.
The Ramsar Convention
The Ramsar Convention (1971) emphasizes the conservation and sustainable use of wetlands, which are crucial for biodiversity and ecosystem health.
These conventions were vital for drafting, negotiating, and adopting legally binding multilateral agreements like the Paris Agreement that signatory countries are obligated to comply with and can be held accountable for failing to do so.
To date, states have adopted more than 1450 multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs). Even though not all MEAs are legally binding, they can still have significant impact by creating a shared understanding and commitment among states.
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Example
A recent example is the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF), adopted in December 2022, that sets out ambitious targets to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030, including the "30 by 30" goal, which aims to protect 30% of the planet's land and marine areas by 2030. These ambitious targets will guide countries in the development of national biodiversity strategies and action plans. Notably, PB science played a significant role for the formulation of the GBF targets by providing a scientific basis and conceptual foundation for the Nature Positive concept (Locke et al, 2021)180 that is reflected in the GBF’s ambitions.
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Leveraging Existing Institutions and Mechanisms
In parallel to governance efforts, effective use of existing institutions and mechanisms has been the focus of an effort by the Yale Center for the Study of Globalization. In a set of matrices, domains such as freshwater, biosphere integrity, and climate change were mapped to monitoring, governance, and incentive dimensions. The matrices provide a structured approach for addressing the main challenges in improving planetary health, including weak governance, inadequate global coordination, low political will, market distortions, and information asymmetry. This work shows very clearly that institutions, governance mechanisms, and multilateral agreements already in place, have the potential to take humanity a very long way towards the Safe Operating Space within the Planetary Boundaries.
Future Research & Policy Evolution
Further research is needed to focus on improved integration of diverse knowledge domains, including law, politics, science, and indigenous wisdom for the design of effective planetary commons governance.
For example, Rockström et al. 2024 have recently emphasized the need for improved governance frameworks for the planetary commons that account for PBs.
By combining established international environmental law concepts with novel principles emerging from the "Earth system law" paradigm, a transition towards better governance of Earth's critical biophysical systems is possible.
Another important research direction is the down-scaling of the global PB processes and their boundaries to national, regional (Schulte-Uebbing et al. 2022), and city levels (Kronenberg et al. 2024), making them accessible to policy development at all levels.