EDS Integrated Approach for Sustainability (EDS-IA) …
287
• Planetary Boundaries (Rockström et al. 2009a, b; Steffen et al. 2015)
• Social Floor (Raworth et al. 2012)
• Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations General Assembly 2015).
2.2 Planetary Boundaries
According to Joan Rockström’s team, there are nine functional boundaries or thresholds beyond which biogeochemical flows can be irreversibly altered (Rockström et al.
2009a). We can grouped it into three trios, depending on the sphere in which they
have the main influence: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. These
three spheres interact with each other and with the lithosphere. In the same way,
boundaries’ action also transcends a single sphere. Three functional limits primarily
concern the atmosphere: atmospheric aerosol loading, stratospheric ozone depletion
and climate change. Three others affect mainly the hydrosphere: chemical pollution,
interference with the global phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, and global freshwater
withdrawn. Finally, three others affect the future of the biosphere: ocean acidification, land-system change (owing to agricultural and urban land expansion) and
biodiversity loss. We now know that boundaries concerning the rate of biodiversity
loss, climate change and the nitrogen cycle have already been exceeded (Rockström
et al. 2009b).
These functional boundaries are values established from the best of current scientific knowledge in order to maintain the impacts of human actions at a reasonable
distance from the thresholds and thus preserve the self-regulating capabilities of the
Earth. They are markers rather than definitive values, and the incessant scientific
refinements make them more and more accurate. Identification and monitoring of
planetary boundaries are based on data compiled for over forty years by consortia of
global research on environmental change. The awareness of the existence of functional limits is part of the sustainable development path, since these limits inform us
about the margins that our civilization still has or not. This information is being used
as a tool to support decision-making processes and it is now one of the mandatory
references of all United Nations agencies (Anctil and Diaz 2016, p. 64). The first
two of the exceeded thresholds are the subject of multilateral agreements since the
90s.
The Nature’s conception imbedded in the planetary boundaries approach is typical
of our era. This representation is no longer part of the opposition between “ecocentrism” and “anthropocentrism”, but reflects the ethical consequences of the Anthropocene for humanity: the obligation to find solutions to global problems generated
by its intervention (Steffen et al. 2011). Instead of an Earth system considered as
a mere provider of the socio-economic system, as it’s represented in the so-called
“anthropocentric” models, or as an envelope and support of life, as conceived by
“ecocentric” models, planetary boundaries represent the most vulnerable side of our
planet, both threatened and dependent on human actions. Humanity now realizes that
“it depends on us that everything does not depend solely on us” (Serres 2014).
287
• Planetary Boundaries (Rockström et al. 2009a, b; Steffen et al. 2015)
• Social Floor (Raworth et al. 2012)
• Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations General Assembly 2015).
2.2 Planetary Boundaries
According to Joan Rockström’s team, there are nine functional boundaries or thresholds beyond which biogeochemical flows can be irreversibly altered (Rockström et al.
2009a). We can grouped it into three trios, depending on the sphere in which they
have the main influence: the atmosphere, the hydrosphere and the biosphere. These
three spheres interact with each other and with the lithosphere. In the same way,
boundaries’ action also transcends a single sphere. Three functional limits primarily
concern the atmosphere: atmospheric aerosol loading, stratospheric ozone depletion
and climate change. Three others affect mainly the hydrosphere: chemical pollution,
interference with the global phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, and global freshwater
withdrawn. Finally, three others affect the future of the biosphere: ocean acidification, land-system change (owing to agricultural and urban land expansion) and
biodiversity loss. We now know that boundaries concerning the rate of biodiversity
loss, climate change and the nitrogen cycle have already been exceeded (Rockström
et al. 2009b).
These functional boundaries are values established from the best of current scientific knowledge in order to maintain the impacts of human actions at a reasonable
distance from the thresholds and thus preserve the self-regulating capabilities of the
Earth. They are markers rather than definitive values, and the incessant scientific
refinements make them more and more accurate. Identification and monitoring of
planetary boundaries are based on data compiled for over forty years by consortia of
global research on environmental change. The awareness of the existence of functional limits is part of the sustainable development path, since these limits inform us
about the margins that our civilization still has or not. This information is being used
as a tool to support decision-making processes and it is now one of the mandatory
references of all United Nations agencies (Anctil and Diaz 2016, p. 64). The first
two of the exceeded thresholds are the subject of multilateral agreements since the
90s.
The Nature’s conception imbedded in the planetary boundaries approach is typical
of our era. This representation is no longer part of the opposition between “ecocentrism” and “anthropocentrism”, but reflects the ethical consequences of the Anthropocene for humanity: the obligation to find solutions to global problems generated
by its intervention (Steffen et al. 2011). Instead of an Earth system considered as
a mere provider of the socio-economic system, as it’s represented in the so-called
“anthropocentric” models, or as an envelope and support of life, as conceived by
“ecocentric” models, planetary boundaries represent the most vulnerable side of our
planet, both threatened and dependent on human actions. Humanity now realizes that
“it depends on us that everything does not depend solely on us” (Serres 2014).