What are Safe and Just Boundaries?
The Earth Commission assesses and synthesizes the latest science to define the boundaries for a safe and just planet as well as help guide the transformations needed to protect the global commons.
In a groundbreaking paper in Nature published in 2023, the Commission delivered the first quantification of safe and just boundaries on a global and local level for several biophysical processes and systems that regulate the state of the Earth system.
Click the pictures below to read about the individual boundaries. The last picture takes you to an explainer brief covering all the the safe and just boundaries quantified so far:
What is Earth System Justice?
The Earth System Justice explainer brief elaborates on the concepts of Earth System Justice, a framework developed by the Earth Commission to underpin the Safe and Just Boundaries and transformations.
Earth system justice can be defined as an equitable sharing among all people of nature’s benefits, risks, and related responsibilities. The brief explains concepts such as the “Safe and Just Space”, “Minimum Access”, and how the Earth Commission applies different forms of justice, such as interspecies, inter- and intragenerational justice. It summarises how global boundaries can be translated and downscaled to be useful for local actors, and what transformations are necessary to reach the Safe and Just Space.
The brief is based on Earth Commission’s scientific papers in The Lancet Planetary Health and Nature Sustainability.