International Planetary Boundaries conference with Rockström

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Environmental pressures are rapidly increasing worldwide, with mounting risks for sustainable development. In order to end poverty, enable social and economic development and stability as well as promote justice and peace, we must operate within a safe operating space delineated by the planetary boundaries. In 2009, the Planetary Boundaries concept was developed by Johan Rockström and Will Steffen and enhanced in 2015.

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Professor Johan Rockström, Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre

From the perspective of the German Federal Environment Ministry, the German Environment Agency and the German Federal Environmental Foundation, the core challenge and opportunity is to politically, socially and economically shape this safe operating space. For this purpose, fundamental changes towards a sustainable economy and society are necessary.

To enable the concept to take a pioneering role for this transformation, adelphi is organising in collaboration with the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research and the Stockholm Environment Institute on behalf of the BMUB, the UBA and the DBU the international conference "Making the Planetary Boundaries Concept Work" (24/25 April 2017, Berlin)" that discusses key issues: How can we further improve the scientific justification of the internationally recognised concept? How can we apply the concept to national environmental and sustainability policies and policy-making? Which opportunities provided by the concept arise for technical, economical and social innovations, for corporate risk and corporate environmental management, for environmental education and communication?

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Barbara Hendricks, Federal Environment Minister, Germany (BMUB)
Heinrich Bottermann, General Secretary, German Federal Environmental Foundation (DBU)
Johan Rockström, Director, Stockholm Resilience Centre (SRC)

The goal of the conference is to bring together central actors in the field of sustainability transformation to generate an agenda for the concept’s further application in academia, for governments, the private sector, and civil society. And thus become an international milestone for its dissemination, development and application.