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Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org
ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online)
Vol.144, 2024 lsi
The Concept of planetary boundaries for sustainable
development: A review
Solomon Kai Bonal*, Dereje Alemu Bekele2, Hazhar Sami Haji3, Tariq A. Bhat3
Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology-Kashmir, PO box 190025, Jammu and
Kashmir, India
Email: soloktona607_@gmail~com
Abstract
The concept of the planetary boundaries (PB) is a reasonable scientific approach towards achieving the
sustainable development goals (SDGs). It started in 2009 with a group of scientists at the Stockholm Resilience
Center (SRC) in Sweden with the aim of showing a safe operating space for human development and wellbeing
through scientific research by quantifying what they refer to as planetary boundaries. But in other for the
concept of the PB to thoroughly address the matters of the SDGs which does not only include environmental
sustainability but also social issues, human prosperity, and governance, the concept of the PB has in combination
with social boundaries and governance approaches created a sphere of reasonable ideas towards achieving the
SDGs. The sustainable development trajectories of the PB comprising of six major structural transformations
ensures that the world continues to develop economically while staying within planetary boundaries. Therefore,
it has to take the cooperative efforts of all nations in the world to tackle, and to mitigate the overwhelming
effects we have caused on our good planet. Humans should realize that our planet has tried in all its resilient
capabilities to condone all our exploitations, but it seems we have squeezed it too much and it is deflating. We
need to build resilience to the unexpected (resilience thinking); we need to be prepared for the unexpected, both
to be able to cope with shocks and to take advantage of potentially positive surprises. This review tries to
put together the different research ideas towards achieving the aim of the concept of the PB.
Keywords: Planetary Boundaries, Social Boundaries, Earth System Governance, Sustainable Development
Goals.
DOI: 10.7176/JLPG/144-01
Publication date: December 30th 2024
1. Introduction
The Stockholm Resilience Center (SRC) in Sweden brought about the idea of the concept of the planetary
boundaries in 2009 in other to show a safe operating space for human development and wellbeing. They made
the first attempt at identifying planetary boundaries for key Earth System processes associated with dangerous
thresholds, the crossing of which could push the planet out of the desired Holocene state [1]. Out of this attempt,
they concluded that from all the research they conducted, Earth has nine (9) boundaries that we should not cross.
And that transgressing any or all of those boundaries will lead planet Earth to a very dangerous end. This
concept has used other concepts that describe global environmental constraints: carrying capacity, sustainable
consumption and production, guardrails, tipping points, footprints, safe operating space or planetary
boundaries as a shoulder to stand on in other to go beyond what all these concepts describe to indicate a safe
zone for humanity's innovation, growth and development in the pursuit of human prosperity in an increasingly
populated and wealthy world [2].
But, the concept of the planetary boundaries does not stand alone in other for it to be the basis for sustainable
development. Since the sustainable development goals (SDGs) only specify 6 goals namely: SDG 6 (freshwater
supply), SDG 11 (sustainable cities), SDG 12 (sustainable production and consumption), SDG 13 (climate
safety), SDG 14 (conserving marine ecosystems), and SDG 15 (conserving terrestrial ecosystems) in relation to
environmental sustainability defined as the climate system is stable, biodiversity is conserved, ecosystems
function well, freshwater is secured, rural and urban settlements are protected from pollution and are resilient to
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