ABSTRACT
The planetary boundaries concept acknowledges the fact that human activities have environmental impacts at the global level and provides a framework for managing these impacts. Nine Earth System processes important for maintaining the state of the Earth System and which are heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities are identified and limits for human perturbation of these processes are proposed. It is argued that exceeding these limits would increase the risk of triggering a state change in the Earth System. Thus, bringing or maintaining human pressures on these processes within these limits would represent a ‘safe environmental operating space’ for humanity.
