English
 
Privacy Policy Disclaimer
  Advanced SearchBrowse

Item

ITEM ACTIONSEXPORT
Add to Basket
  Local TagsRelease HistoryDetailsSummary

Released
Journal Article

Charting a Transformational Course Toward a Safe and Just Future: The Earth Commission's Contribution [Commentary]

Authors
/persons/resource/johan.rockstrom

Rockström,  Johan       
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Denton,  Fatima
External Organizations;

Norström,  Albert V.
External Organizations;

Abrams,  Jesse F.
External Organizations;

Alam,  Lubna
External Organizations;

Armstrong McKay,  David I.
External Organizations;

Bai,  Xuemei
External Organizations;

Bala,  Govindasamy
External Organizations;

Boulton,  Chris
External Organizations;

Broadgate,  Wendy J.
External Organizations;

Bunn,  Stuart E.
External Organizations;

Buxton,  Joshua E.
External Organizations;

Camilo Cárdenas,  Juan
External Organizations;

Ylla-Català,  Raimon C.
External Organizations;

DeClerck,  Fabrice
External Organizations;

Davis,  Natalie
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/donovan.dennis

Dennis,  Donovan       
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Diamond,  Miriam L.
External Organizations;

Folke,  Carl
External Organizations;

Kendra Charlotte Gotangco Gonzales,  Charlotte
External Organizations;

Graells,  Georgia
External Organizations;

Gupta,  Joyeeta
External Organizations;

Hasan,  Syezlin
External Organizations;

Jacobson,  Lisa
External Organizations;

Lade,  Steven J.
External Organizations;

Lenton,  Timothy M.
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/sina.loriani

Loriani,  Sina       
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Ludwig,  Cornelia
External Organizations;

Marquet,  Pablo A.
External Organizations;

Moyo,  Qondi
External Organizations;

Mukherji,  Aditi
External Organizations;

Nakicenovic,  Nebojsa
External Organizations;

Obura,  David
External Organizations;

Taikan,  Oki
External Organizations;

Ospina,  Daniel
External Organizations;

Fernanda Peña,  Maria
External Organizations;

Pereira,  Laura
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Alexander.Popp

Popp,  Alexander       
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Riahi,  Keywan
External Organizations;

del Mar Rojas,  Maria
External Organizations;

Anindita,  Sarkar
External Organizations;

Shalin,  Anna
External Organizations;

Steward-Koster,  Ben
External Organizations;

Su,  Bo
External Organizations;

Sumaila,  Rashid
External Organizations;

Tharammal,  Thejna
External Organizations;

van Vliet,  Luc
External Organizations;

van Vuuren,  Detlef
External Organizations;

Verburg,  Peter
External Organizations;

Wang,  Zhanyun
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Ricarda.Winkelmann

Winkelmann,  Ricarda       
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Xiao,  Cunde
External Organizations;

Zimm,  Caroline
External Organizations;

External Resource
No external resources are shared
Fulltext (restricted access)
There are currently no full texts shared for your IP range.
Fulltext (public)

34807oa.pdf
(Publisher version), 625KB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Rockström, J., Denton, F., Norström, A. V., Abrams, J. F., Alam, L., Armstrong McKay, D. I., Bai, X., Bala, G., Boulton, C., Broadgate, W. J., Bunn, S. E., Buxton, J. E., Camilo Cárdenas, J., Ylla-Català, R. C., DeClerck, F., Davis, N., Dennis, D., Diamond, M. L., Folke, C., Kendra Charlotte Gotangco Gonzales, C., Graells, G., Gupta, J., Hasan, S., Jacobson, L., Lade, S. J., Lenton, T. M., Loriani, S., Ludwig, C., Marquet, P. A., Moyo, Q., Mukherji, A., Nakicenovic, N., Obura, D., Taikan, O., Ospina, D., Fernanda Peña, M., Pereira, L., Popp, A., Riahi, K., del Mar Rojas, M., Anindita, S., Shalin, A., Steward-Koster, B., Su, B., Sumaila, R., Tharammal, T., van Vliet, L., van Vuuren, D., Verburg, P., Wang, Z., Winkelmann, R., Xiao, C., Zimm, C. (2026): Charting a Transformational Course Toward a Safe and Just Future: The Earth Commission's Contribution [Commentary]. - Earth's Future, 14, 6, e2025EF006976.
https://doi.org/10.1029/2025EF006976


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_34807
Abstract
Humans are now operating well outside the planetary conditions under which social and economic development has been possible. A precondition for securing equitable access to this prosperity is to safeguard the stability of the Earth system. The situation is urgent—we need a swift and profound shift in direction—a collective transformation. In response, the Earth Commission has developed a science-based framework that integrates biophysical limits with justice considerations, aiming to enable human wellbeing for all. The Earth Commission's first assessment showed that multiple safe and just Earth system boundaries have already been transgressed, threatening the resilience of the planet and the well-being of billions. This paper outlines the vision and scientific strategy for the Earth Commission's second phase (2024–2027), which focuses on advancing this framework and translating it into actionable budgets and exploring transformation pathways toward a safe and just future. Key components include expanding the safe and just boundary assessment to currently under-assessed Earth system processes (e.g., novel entities and ocean change), integrating justice more deeply into the framework, modeling interactions between boundaries and tipping points, and developing practical approaches to cross-scale translation and transformation. Special attention is given to the structural inequalities and power dynamics that shape both environmental degradation and our capacity to act. Through coordinated research, interdisciplinary collaboration, and stakeholder engagement, the Earth Commission seeks to provide knowledge to guide collective efforts toward transforming to a safe and just space for both people and the planet.