Humans Have Breached Six of Nine Planetary Boundaries

A boy drags possessions through the flooded streets of Manila in the aftermath of a typhoon.

Nearly ten years after the Paris Agreement — a legally binding commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions — the gap between climate goals and government actions remains stubborn.

The consequences are real: 2024 saw 150 extreme weather events, leading to the highest number of new population displacements recorded in 16 years, rising food prices, and hundreds of billions in damages. March 2025 was the warmest March on record in Europe.

Climate stability is only one of nine planetary boundaries critical for long-term human thriving. While governments have shown that international cooperation is possible — the Montreal Protocol on ozone-depleting substances being a notable success — most environmental indicators are moving in the wrong direction.

Scientists agree current policies are not keeping pace with accelerating environmental degradation. We have already crossed six planetary boundaries and risk breaching more, including those concerning biodiversity, freshwater systems, and ocean acidification. The world remains far from meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

This trend is not new and predates the U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and rollbacks of environmental regulations in other countries. Political commitments are often insufficient and frequently elusive.

Safeguarding our planet must go beyond governments. Change requires decisions at every level: mayors, business leaders, civil society, youth, Indigenous Peoples, faith communities, and households all have roles to play.

Even daily choices — what we eat, how we travel, how we manage waste — shape environmental outcomes. These decisions reflect distinct knowledge systems that can strengthen policy both technically and socially. Nature itself may also be seen as a stakeholder in decision-making: recognizing its dynamics leads to better outcomes.

The UN Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), to be launched at the 7th UN Environment Assembly in December 2025, will highlight this broader, behaviour-focused approach. It asks: How can we engage stakeholders effectively?

Fortunately, inspiring examples already exist. Consider Costa Rica as a case of transformational societal shifts. The country aligns its national budget with public and planetary health, prioritizing this over GDP-based decisions.

High investments in health and education helped generate high well-being levels, longer life expectancy, forest cover increasing from 21 percent in the 1980s to 50 percent, and nearly all electricity coming from renewable sources.

In Rosario, Argentina, civic participation drives urban transformation. Participatory budgeting has improved informal settlements and established a thriving urban agriculture movement. Citizen involvement has enhanced equity, created jobs, and improved food security.

In recent years, Bogotá, Buenos Aires, Lima, and São Paulo have recognized waste pickers as essential service providers. This has improved recycling and plastic waste management while promoting dignity and justice for marginalized communities — advancing the circular economy.

In Andhra Pradesh, India, millions of farmers participate in the Zero Budget Natural Farming initiative, reviving traditional, chemical-free agricultural practices. It is one of the world’s largest agroecological transitions underway.

With nearly 6 out of 10 humans living in cities, climate leadership from networks like C40, which includes nearly 100 mayors, is an important solution.

Crises have sparked innovation too. During the COVID-19 pandemic, London’s food insecurity was exposed, catalyzing resilient networks of urban food governance, including zero-waste initiatives.

Ecological transformation must now happen at unprecedented speed. But for success, it must be co-produced by society — embracing diversity in demography and knowledge systems, including Indigenous wisdom, the arts, and science.

We already have many of the necessary technologies: we know how to boost crop yields, decarbonize economies, and nourish more people with fewer resources — using much less land, water, and energy.

Despite declining government support for environmental protection, these examples show our ability to develop participatory processes toward a sustainable future. They prove meaningful, inclusive progress is possible.

The crises of climate change, nature loss, land degradation, biodiversity decline, and pollution — the terrifying trajectory of crossing planetary boundaries — underscore the urgency of equitable inclusion.

Let’s not leave transformation to governments alone. The responsibility — and the power — is shared.