opinion

Planetary Boundaries

Rupert Knowles

05 Mar 2025 • 2 min read

The evolution of the planetary boundaries framework. Licenced under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 (Credit: Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University. Based on Richardson et al. 2023, Steffen et al. 2015, and Rockström et al. 2009)

I am on the mailing list for the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Back in 2009, The Centre¹ and its director, Johan Rockström, coined the expression ‘Planetary Boundaries’. Seven boundaries were described and three of these were considered to be crossed already. Since then, the number of boundaries described has increased to nine with six crossed already.

**The 2023 update to the Planetary boundaries.** Licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 3.0. Credit: "Azote for Stockholm Resilience Centre, based on analysis in Richardson et al 2023"

In 2015, I was certificated ‘Champion of the Biosphere’ after completing an on-line course! It coincided with moving to Harlestone, four miles from Northampton. I am not sure I would achieve 90% now with the additional boundaries and their technicalities!

Climate Change and Methane

It is scary to note the increased transgression of the boundaries since 2009. More so to see what a small portion ‘Climate Change’ is of the whole. What a mess the world is in! But we can only work harder to change our little corner.

In UK, some of the focus has switched to methane and farmers get a lot of the blame. Is this fair? I shall try to answer this in another article. I have also been discussing the changeover in the way farmers are funded by the state, Inheritance Tax, ‘agri-voltaics’, land-use strategies and river pollution. It may be that, as one farmer said to me, ‘farming is the solution – not the problem’.

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For a more in depth look at Planetary Boundaries, you can hear Johan Rockström on one of our recommended podcasts, The Great Simplification https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/134-johan-rockstrom

https://www.stockholmresilience.org/