A new planetary health check led by 60 scientists at the Potsdam Institute finds seven of nine planetary boundaries are now transgressed and at their highest recorded levels. The seven breached boundaries are climate change, biosphere integrity, land system change, freshwater change, biogeochemical flows, introduction of novel entities, and ocean acidification, with ocean acidification joining the list for the first time last year. Only stratospheric ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosol loading have improved over the past decade, although atmospheric aerosols remain a problem regionally. Lead author Boris Sakschewski said the diagnosis is unambiguous and that rising pressure increases the risk of large-scale, persistent, and potentially irreversible change while shrinking humanity’s margin for error. The report warns forests and oceans that have absorbed much emitted carbon show signs of faltering, weakening Earth’s capacity to buffer climate impacts. Co-author Johan Rockström said humanity still has the knowledge and capacity to act and called for accelerated measures to return all boundaries to the safe operating space to protect lives and livelihoods.
