Within the Limits

Have you ever heard of the Planetary Boundaries? Knowing what they are will help you to understand what a healthy planet is.

In short, the Planetary Boundaries are non-negotiable limits for the environment. If we remain within the Planetary Boundaries the risk of changing the state of our planet is low.

The Planetary Boundaries. Photo credit and featured: https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2015-01-15-planetary-boundaries---an-update.html

We are currently exceeding 4 of the 9 Planetary Boundaries: Biosphere Integrity (biodiversity loss), Biogeochemical Cycles (nitrogen and phosphorus runoff from agricultural land to waterways), Land System Change and Climate Change. Two – novel entities (man made substances) and aerosols (air pollution) - have not been measured at a global scale but it is likely we are also exceeding these. We are at extremely high risk of irrevocably changing the state of the planet.

Whilst this may all sound very overwhelming, it is not too late for us to turn things around. Planetary Accounting helps to break down these global problems into manageable chunks – defining what you can do as an individual, businesses, or governments to do to help us return to and live within the Planetary Boundaries.

Change is possible, it is just about knowing where we are going which is what Planetary Accounting can help with.