Annual Planetary Health Check Warns Seven Life Support Systems Are Under Severe Strain
- Reports
- 8
- Developments
- 3
- Repetition
- 62%
New informationRepeats or wire copies
What happened
A new annual assessment report, the Planetary Health Check, found that seven of the nine planetary boundaries are being breached at their highest recorded levels of transgression. These boundaries relate to critical life support systems, including climate change, land system change, and ocean acidification. The report warns that the risk of large-scale, persistent, and potentially irreversible change is increasing, while the margin for error is shrinking.
Why it matters
The findings indicate that the Earth system is under strain due to human activity pushing beyond livable levels of heat and pollution. The report concludes that the diagnosis is unambiguous: pressure is rising across every planetary boundary already outside the safe operating space.
Who's involved
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact ResearchHosted the research and published the findings of the Planetary Health Check.
- Boris SakschewskiLead author of the report and a PIK scientist.
- Johan RockströmCo-author of the assessment report.
Who could feel it
Possible knock-on effectsThese are possibilities Brind reasoned out, not predictions, and not advice. Most are not stated in any report.
- Climate AnalyticsSpeculative
Increased market demand for climate scenario modeling might arise due to urgent risk warnings.
How it developed
Newest first. Tap a step to see who reported it.Sakschewski and Rockström co-authored an assessment report hosted by PIK.1 source
Sakschewski (PIK) leads Planetary Health Check; Katherine Richardson (UoC) is involved.1 source
Boris Sakschewski leads research on planetary health and monitors Earth's critical life support systems.1 source
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The entities involved
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Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
German research institute
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Boris Sakschewski
researcher, ORCiD ID=0000-0002-7230-9723
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Johan Rockström
Swedish environmental scientist (born 1965)
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