Between social and planetary boundaries: Navigating pathways in the safe and just space for humanity

Abstract

Rapid environmental change in the face of enduring poverty and social inequality has brought unprecedented attention to the challenge of achieving social equity and environmental sustainability, at all levels from the local to the global. There is a clear need for conceptual approaches that enable these challenges to be addressed together, so that options for pathways to equitable and sustainable development can be identified and debated. The concept of social and planetary boundaries, integrated with the three "Ds" agenda – direction, diversity and distribution – provides one such framework. This can be used to identify alternative pathways and inform consideration of their social and political implications.