Planetary Boundaries is a critically important concept to understand for everyone working on environmental and social justice issues, including: climate change, biodiversity protection, land management and more. Initiatives such as the UN ‘Sustainable Development Goals’ and ‘Doughnut Economics’ are all built on the foundations of the Planetary Boundaries concept – so understanding and staying up to date with Planetary Boundaries is important for practitioners, policy makers and thought leaders.

The Planetary Boundaries concept reached global attention when it was released in ‘Nature’ in 2009.¹ It was developed by 28 internationally renowned scientists – including Australia’s Professor Will Steffen. This ground-breaking research identified for the first time, the nine processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system. The scientists proposed quantitative planetary boundaries within which live on Earth can continue to thrive for generations to come. Crossing these boundaries increases the risk of generating large-scale abrupt or irreversible environmental changes. Since then the Planetary Boundaries framework has generated enormous interest within science, policy, and practice.