We are upgrading the repository! A content freeze is in effect until December 6th, 2024 - no new submissions will be accepted; however, all content already published will remain publicly available. Please reach out to repository@u.library.arizona.edu with your questions, or if you are a UA affiliate who needs to make content available soon. Note that any new user accounts created after September 22, 2024 will need to be recreated by the user in November after our migration is completed.
Safe and just Earth system boundaries
Name:
s41586-023-06083-8.pdf
Size:
8.153Mb
Format:
PDF
Description:
Final Published Version
Affiliation
School of Geography, Development and Environment, University of ArizonaIssue Date
2023-05-31Metadata
Show full item recordPublisher
Nature ResearchCitation
Rockström, J., Gupta, J., Qin, D. et al. Safe and just Earth system boundaries. Nature 619, 102–111 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06083-8Journal
NatureRights
© The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.Collection Information
This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at repository@u.library.arizona.edu.Abstract
The stability and resilience of the Earth system and human well-being are inseparably linked1–3, yet their interdependencies are generally under-recognized; consequently, they are often treated independently4,5. Here, we use modelling and literature assessment to quantify safe and just Earth system boundaries (ESBs) for climate, the biosphere, water and nutrient cycles, and aerosols at global and subglobal scales. We propose ESBs for maintaining the resilience and stability of the Earth system (safe ESBs) and minimizing exposure to significant harm to humans from Earth system change (a necessary but not sufficient condition for justice)4. The stricter of the safe or just boundaries sets the integrated safe and just ESB. Our findings show that justice considerations constrain the integrated ESBs more than safety considerations for climate and atmospheric aerosol loading. Seven of eight globally quantified safe and just ESBs and at least two regional safe and just ESBs in over half of global land area are already exceeded. We propose that our assessment provides a quantitative foundation for safeguarding the global commons for all people now and into the future. © 2023, The Author(s).Note
Open access articleISSN
0028-0836PubMed ID
37258676Version
Final Published VersionScopus Count
Collections
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as © The Author(s) 2023. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.