The Earth Commission is a global team of scientists with the mission to define a safe and just corridor for people and planet.
Science is sending a clear message: human activities are rapidly pushing the planet towards irreversible tipping points, which threaten the foundations for human well-being.
All life on Earth depends on clean air and water, biodiversity, healthy oceans, and a stable climate. These are the global commons: the shared resources that ensure a habitable planet.
What are the environmental thresholds that we should not cross in order to safeguard a planet that can support human well-being? And how can we do it in a just way? This is the focus of the Earth Commission.
The Earth Commission is hosted by Future Earth, the world’s largest network of sustainability scientists, and is the scientific cornerstone of the Global Commons Alliance.
WE NEED TARGETS – GUIDED BY SCIENCE
The Earth Commission will synthesise the latest science to underpin science-based targets that can help preserve the stability and resilience of Earth’s life support systems.
The scientific guardrails defined by the Earth Commission will guide the Science Based Targets Network in developing tangible science-based targets tailored to cities and companies.
“This year’s fires, the rapidly warming Arctic, dying coral reefs, and unprecedented heat waves and floods across the world, are the clearest signals yet that human activities are pushing the planet further and further from the stable state we have enjoyed for 10,000 years.” Prof. Johan Rockström
Director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and co-chair of the Earth Commission
“To combat climate change, nations have agreed to limit global warming to well below 2 degrees. What we lack are comparable objectives for other key environmental components. The Earth Commission will fill this critical gap” Prof. Dahe Qin
Director of the Academic Committee of Chinese Academy of Science, co-chair of the Earth Commission
“The UN Sustainable Development Goals are largely aspirational. The Commission’s analysis will identify practical science-based targets that help realize these aspirations and deliver on Agenda 2030 to leave no one behind.” Prof. Joyeeta Gupta
Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and co-chair of the Earth Commission
FIVE WORKING GROUPS TO DEFINE A SAFE AND JUST CORRIDOR
To provide a holistic people-planet framework – taking into account the complex interactions between natural and social systems, justice, and human well-being – the Earth Commissions convenes five international working groups of experts:
