Planetary boundaries and the Anthropocene

The Anthropocene is the scientific context in which the Planetary boundaries framework was developed. Johan Rockström and colleagues argue that the stable Holocene epoch — the ~11,700-year window within which human civilisation developed — is the state humanity depends on, and that Anthropocene pressures are pushing Earth systems beyond that stability.

“Earth for All” (Club of Rome, 2022) uses the Anthropocene framing to argue that the question for the 21st century is not whether humans are reshaping planetary systems (they are), but whether that reshaping leads to collapse or to a stable, equitable civilisation. The Earth4All model and its Giant Leaps scenario represent an attempt to answer that question with a quantitative transformation roadmap.

Resources