In this paper, the authors develop a framework that addresses the biophysical, socio-economic, and ethical dimensions of bridging across scales, to provide a consistently applicable approach for translating the planetary boundaries into national-level fair shares of Earth’s safe operating space.
The planetary boundaries framework proposes quantitative global limits to the anthropogenic perturbation of crucial Earth system processes, and thus marks out a planetary safe operating space for human activities. Yet, decisions regarding resource use and emissions are mostly made at less aggregated scales, by national and sub-national governments, businesses, and other local actors.
To operationalize the planetary boundaries concept, the boundaries need to be translated into and aligned with targets that are relevant at these decision-making scales. The authors discuss their findings in the context of previous studies and their implications for future analyses and policy-making. In this way, the planetary boundaries framework is linked to widely-applied operational and policy concepts for more robust strong sustainability decision-making.
Read the article (external link to journal – open access)
Design and development by Soapbox.