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Planetary Terminology

This page represents our ongoing effort to define and clarify the terminology used in discussions about planetary phenomena, cultural evolution and emerging concepts in planetary sustainability.

Affluence

The abundance of wealth and resources, typically characterised by a high standard of living, substantial income, and the ability to acquire and enjoy goods and services that exceed basic necessities. Affluence is associated with overconsumption and ecological overshoot.

Anthropisation

The physical transformation of the Earth's environment as a result of humanity's technical systems. It encompasses the ways in which human activities, such as urban development, agriculture, industrialisation, and technology, have modified natural landscapes, ecosystems, and climate patterns. Anthropisation often implies significant alterations of the natural world, including habitat destruction, pollution, and resource depletion, reflecting the impact of human actions on the planet's physical state.

Ref: Le Geste et la parole, 1964, by A. Leroi-Gourhan.

Anthropocene

A phase characterised by a regime shift in the behaviour of thermo-industrial societies, beginning in 1945 or 1950, and leading to unprecedented disruptions in the Earth System across the entire Cenozoic era. These disruptions include climate change, ecosystem collapse, environmental contamination, resource exploitation, land cover change, and drastic alterations to the inhabited world. These shifts necessitate a substantial reorientation of our awareness and perspectives, demanding new approaches to living on Earth.

The official definition of the Anthropocene according to the Anthropocene Working Group of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy: “The ‘Anthropocene’ is a term widely used since its coining by Paul Crutzen and Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to denote the present geological time interval, in which many conditions and processes on Earth are profoundly altered by human impact. This impact has intensified significantly since the onset of industrialization, taking us out of the Earth System state typical of the Holocene Epoch that post-dates the last glaciation.”

Note: The classification of the Anthropocene remains a topic of debate, with uncertainty surrounding whether it represents an event, a new epoch, or an era. Alternative proposals for its commencement include the Agricultural Revolution, as posited by the Early Anthropocene Hypothesis, as well as the Columbian Exchange and the Industrial Revolution.

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Anthropocene Traps

Anthropocene traps are identified as maladaptive phenomena that have emerged from initially adaptive processes, exhibit signs of undesirable impacts on global human well-being, and have a trapping mechanism making it difficult to escape their negative impacts once activated.

The evolution of these traps occurs across four (4) distinct phases:

1. Initiation
   This phase starts with social or technological innovations that set new trajectories in motion, focusing on immediate, local outcomes while often overlooking long-term, global consequences.

2. Scaling
   Here, the initial trajectories gain momentum and expand globally, involving increased connectivity and system establishment, with a focus on adapting to and exploiting these changes.

3. Masking
   In this phase, the global system's failures, like ecosystem degradation, become obscured due to the complexities of global connectivity, leading to a lack of immediate awareness and response to these issues.

4. Trapping
   The final phase where entrenched mechanisms make it extremely difficult to alter the established paths, resulting in persistent negative impacts. These mechanisms include ecological tipping points, cultural inertia, conflicts, and mismatches in global management and perception.

Fourteen (14) Anthropocene Traps have been suggested:

1. Simplification
   Over-specialisation leading to systems vulnerable to shocks.

2. Growth-for-Growth
   Institutional lock-ins that prioritise economic growth over well-being.

3. Overshoot
   Continued material growth leading to surpassing Earth system limits.

4. Division
   Unstable selection for global human cooperation, increasing conflict risks.

5. Contagion
   Global connectivity heightening the risk of large-scale contagions, like pandemics.

6. Infrastructure Lock-In
   Complex material infrastructures becoming maladaptive.

7. Chemical Pollution
   Production of complex/persistent compounds harmful to humans/ecosystems.

8. Existential Technology
   Technological arms-races leading to the evolution of destructive technologies.

9. Technological Autonomy
   Reliance on automation potentially misaligned with human needs, e.g. AI.

10. Disinformation & Misinformation
    Digitalisation amplifying the spread of false information.

11. Short-Termism
    Prioritising short-term benefits, reinforcing other traps, and promoting conflict.

12. Overconsumption
    Separation of production and consumption leading to excessive use of resources.

13. Biosphere Disconnect
    Separation of human settlements from ecosystems, reducing environmental awareness.

14. Local Social Capital Loss
    Digitalisation leading to reduced face-to-face interaction and community engagement.

Ref: Evolution of the polycrisis: Anthropocene traps that challenge global sustainability, 2023.

Anthroposphere

The Anthroposphere is to geography (space) what the Anthropocene is to Earth’s history (time). Sometimes also referred to as the technosphere, it is the part of the environment that is made or modified by humans for use in human activities and habitats. The Anthroposphere includes all human-generated systems and materials, such as the human population, urban environments, agriculture, transportation systems, and manufactured goods. The Anthroposphere is comparable to the Biosphere in that it represents the total mass of human-generated systems and their interaction with Earth's systems. However, unlike the Biosphere, which efficiently produces and recycles materials through natural processes like photosynthesis and decomposition, the Anthroposphere is not self-sustaining and has a significant planetary-wide impacts. Indeed, it is a sobering reality that the expansion of the Anthroposphere occurs at the expense of the Biosphere, diminishing its complexity and equilibrium. The Anthroposphere is the youngest of Earth's spheres but has rapidly influenced the planet and its natural systems (see Anthropocene).

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Biosphere

The Biosphere refers to the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships, including their interactions with the elements of the lithosphere (earth), hydrosphere (water), and atmosphere (air). It encompasses the sum total of all ecosystems on Earth, representing the zone of life where biological processes occur, ranging from the deepest layers of the oceans to the upper reaches of the atmosphere where life can exist. The Biosphere is a critical component of Earth, as it is the space within which life activities occur and is fundamental to the survival and maintenance of life on the planet. Within the vast expanse of the Cosmos, it is only our planet, Earth, that is known to possess a Biosphere.

Cascade effect

A causal chain whereby a small change in a system triggers a further change in another system and so on, resulting in a large overall change across systems. Synonymous with chain reaction and domino effect.

Cosmoctony

The destruction of an original way of seeing the world, aka a worldview or cosmovision. The erosion of biocultural diversity may be seen as a cosmoctonic event.

Cosmicisation

The process by which humanity opens up to the cosmos; the set of changes (anthropological, philosophical, technological, etc.) that occur in contact with realities beyond Earth, in human consciousness, and in the history of societies.

Ref: The Universe and Civilization, 1981, by V. Sevastyanov, A. Ursul & U. Shkolenko

Ecosphere

The Ecosphere refers to the inhabitable space for life (or lyfe) to exist, including the collective sum of all Earth's ecosystems. It encompasses the interactions between living organisms (plants, animals, microbes) and their physical environment (air, water, mineral soil). Representing the global network of biotic (biological) and abiotic (physical and chemical) components, the ecosphere is integral to the interconnected processes that sustain life. This concept extends beyond the biosphere, which focuses primarily on the biological elements, by incorporating the physical and chemical aspects of the Earth that interact with and support life. The existence and functionality of the Ecosphere are intrinsically linked to Earth's position within the Goldilocks Zone of the Sun, a region where conditions are ‘just right’ for liquid water – an essential ingredient for life as we know it – to exist. This strategic location enables the dynamic balance within the Ecosphere, fostering the integrated nature of Earth's systems and highlighting the interdependence of life and its environment on a global scale.

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Ecumene (Oecumene)

The set of emerged and habitable lands of the planet where humans can live and where societies can develop. The set of the biosphere where symbolic and technical systems are at work (aka Anthroposphere). Portion of the planetary environment shaped and impacted by anthropisation.

Earth Stewardship

Earth Stewardship encapsulates the ethos of responsibly managing Earth's resources and ecosystems to sustain ecological resilience and human well-being. This comprehensive approach integrates 6 guiding principles:

1. Multi-scale action to address global challenges;

2. Multi-faceted solutions for simultaneous issues;

3. Aligning incentives with stewardship goals;

4. Ecological and socio-cultural compatibility in decision-making;

5. Valuing the aesthetic, cultural, and spiritual aspects of ecosystems;

6. And leveraging demographic changes like urbanisation for stewardship opportunities.

It underscores the synergy between ecological science, policy, interdisciplinary collaboration, and an ethic of care towards nurturing a sustainable future.

Ref: Earth Stewardship: science for action to sustain the human-earth system, 2011.

Earth System Boundaries (ESBs)

Earth System Boundaries are an evolution of the Planetary Boundaries (PBs), integrating concepts like doughnut economics and Sustainable Development Goals to define a 'safe and just' operating space. Developed by the Earth Commission, ESBs scale quantitative boundaries from local to global levels, incorporating justice to prevent significant human harm such as loss of lives, livelihoods, and nutritional insecurity.

This framework identifies 8 control variables across 5 planetary processes:

1. Climate Change;

2. Biosphere Integrity (intact nature & managed nature);

3. Nutrients/Biogeochemical Flows (phosphorus & nitrogen);

4. Freshwater Change (surface water & groundwater), and;

5. Aerosol Loading.

Ref: Safe and just Earth system boundaries, 2023.
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Earth System Governance

The interrelated and increasingly integrated system of formal and informal rules, rule-making systems, and actor-networks at all levels of human society (from local to global) that are set up to steer societies towards preventing, mitigating, and adapting to global and local environmental change and, in particular, Earth System transformation, within the normative context of sustainable development.

Ref: Earth system governance: a research framework, 2010.

Earth System Interventions (ESIs)

Earth System Interventions encompass a broad spectrum of intentional, large-scale actions aimed at modifying Earth systems. These interventions range from historical practices like land reclamation, reservoir creation, irrigation, intentional extinction, nitrogen cycle management, and ecosystem restoration to emerging technological approaches such as carbon dioxide removal, solar geoengineering, genetic modification of in situ populations, gene drive organisms, de-extinction, and advanced ecosystem restoration. While these interventions hold the potential to address critical sustainability and human welfare challenges, they also bring forth significant environmental, social, political, and ethical considerations, necessitating informed and cautious governance in line with the precautionary principle.

Ref: Earth system interventions as technologies of the Anthropocene, 2021.

Earth System Justice

Earth System Justice is defined as an equitable sharing of nature’s benefits, risks and related responsibilities among all people in the world, within safe and just Earth System Boundaries (ESBs) to provide universal life support.

It includes the 3 Is of Justice:

1. Interspecies & Earth System Stability
   This principle emphasizes rejecting human exceptionalism and focuses on the more-than-human world. It advocates for viewing humans as guardians of the natural world, with a responsibility to maintain the stability of Earth's ecosystems for the benefit of all species.

2. Intergenerational
   This principle is divided into two parts:

   • 2.1. Past and Present:
     It involves acknowledging and respecting the connection and responsibilities between past and present generations.

   • 2.2. Present and Future:
     It focuses on the responsibilities of the current generation towards future generations, ensuring the sustainability and health of the planet for those who come after.

3. Intragenerational
   This principle relates to equity and justice within the current generation. It addresses disparities between countries, communities (including Indigenous peoples), and individuals, advocating for fair and equitable treatment and distribution of resources and responsibilities.

Ref: Earth system justice needed to identify and live within Earth system boundaries, 2023.

Geographicity

The fundamental and irreducible relationship between humans and the Earth, encompassing the ways in which humans experience, understand, and engage with their terrestrial environment as a lived reality filled with meaning, symbolism, and emotional attachments. It is the existential and experiential dimension of human life on Earth, shaping our sense of place, belonging, and identity across various scales, from the intimate to the planetary. Geographicity complements the concept of planetarity by emphasizing the human-Earth relationship and the lived experience of being embedded within the planet's systems and processes. While planetarity highlights the ontological condition of being inextricably connected to the Earth's complex and interconnected systems, geographicity focuses on how this condition is experienced, understood, and navigated by humans as inhabitants of the Earth. Together, these concepts provide a holistic understanding of the human-Earth relationship, recognizing both the objective reality of our planetary embeddedness and the subjective, experiential dimensions of our terrestrial existence.

Ref: Dardel, Éric. L'Homme et la Terre: Nature de la Réalité Géographique. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1952.

Global Commons

Common resources at a planetary scale that are outside national jurisdictions. International law identifies four global commons which are recognised as the common heritage of humankind (UNEP Division of Environmental Law and Conventions):

1. High Seas

2. Atmosphere

3. Antarctica

4. Outer Space

In the Anthropocene, humanity must act as stewards of the planet's resources that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth System. There is an urgent need to expand the definition of global commons — see Planetary Commons.

Ref: Global Commons in the Anthropocene: World Development on a Stable and Resilient Planet, 2016.

Global Polycrisis

A global polycrisis is an emergent phenomenon characterised by the causal entanglement of crises in multiple global systems in ways that significantly degrade humanity’s prospects.

It encompasses 2 core implications:

1. Intra-systemic impact: A disruption affecting one part or area of a single system quickly spreads, disturbing the entire system. This occurs through multiple, ramifying chains of cause and effect, or some form of contagion, navigating through the system’s causal network.

2. Inter-systemic impact: The disruption of the initial system may extend beyond that system’s boundaries, leading to the disruption of other systems.

Additionally, 4 vectors can carry a crisis within and across systems and from one part of the world to another, thereby leading to a global polycrisis:

• Energy, such as the kinetic energy generated by earthquakes and hurricanes.

• Matter, such as the toxins and pollutants that harm organisms and ecosystems.

• Information, consisting of instructions and symbolic representations—including genetic and digital codes, news feeds, ideologies, money, policies, and laws—that can be communicated between agents.

• Biota, such as viruses, bacteria, and other organisms that can disrupt the biological and physiological functions of other organisms. (This category may be considered a special combination of energy, matter, and information that involves lifeforms.)

Ref: Global Polycrisis: The Causal Mechanisms of Crisis Entanglement, 2024.

Great Acceleration

The Great Acceleration encapsulates the mid-20th-century step-change in anthropogenic global environmental impact. It integrates evidence of humans transforming Earth's functioning into a coherent overview of global change. This phenomenon, sparked by the post-WWII industrial surge, encompasses complex, multi-causal processes altering the Earth System – from land domestication to significant modifications of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere. The Great Acceleration also highlights the emergence of tipping points, leading to rapid, non-linear, and potentially irreversible changes in Earth’s climate system, symbolising humanity's substantial influence on the planet's geology and ecosystems.

Ref: The trajectory of the Anthropocene: The Great Acceleration, 2015.
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Habitability

Habitability refers to the probability of a planet or region in space being able to support life, influenced by cosmic, planetary, and biological factors. It evolves over cosmic time as conditions like star formation rates, supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole activity decline, improving the prospects for life. Key elements include the presence of essential materials, such as water and heavy elements, the existence of planetary protection mechanisms (e.g., magnetic fields, atmospheres), and geophysical stability. Long-term environmental stability is crucial, as is protection from harmful cosmic radiation. While the presence of liquid water is fundamental, habitability also depends on the capacity of a planet to maintain a habitable environment through internal dynamics, such as plate tectonics and thermal evolution. Additionally, life may thrive in extreme environments (extremophiles), expanding the concept of habitability to include niche ecosystems. The role of biological adaptation, localized conditions, and the influence of metallicity on planet formation are also critical, alongside gravitational and stellar constraints that affect the overall likelihood of a planet supporting life.

In the context of the Anthropocene, the habitability or livability of Earth corresponds to the planet's ability to sustain life broadly in its Holocene-like abundance, diversity, and ecological integrity. This includes supporting the entire human population at its current and projected size indefinitely, while also enabling the achievement and maintenance of a decent living standard for everyone.

We view the concept of planetary habitability as a defining and decisive idea for the 21st century and beyond. Its conceptualization dates back to the mid-20th century, with key moments such as the introduction of the "habitable zone" concept by Su-Shu Huang and Robert Jastrow in 1959, the development of the Drake Equation in 1961, and the discovery of the first confirmed exoplanet in 1992. However, it has only recently entered widespread public consciousness and discourse.

The concept gained significant momentum in the scientific community following the launch of NASA's Kepler space telescope in 2009, which was specifically designed to search for potentially habitable exoplanets. This scientific progress has been paralleled by increased representation in popular culture, including films that capture key dimensions of planetary habitability. Notable examples include WALL·E (2008), which explores a post-habitable Earth, Avatar (2009), which contrasts a destroyed Earth ("they killed their Mother") with the maximally habitable world of Pandora, The Martian (2015), which deals with surviving in the uninhabitable Martian environment, and Interstellar (2014), which involves the search for habitable planets. Gravity (2013) provides a stark contrast, effectively demonstrating how inhospitable space is by showing the protagonist moving from one artificial habitable bubble to another until finally reaching the safety of Earth's biosphere in the film's climax.

Habitable Zone

Often referred to as the ‘Goldilocks Zone,’ the concept of the Habitable Zone in astronomy and planetary science defines the range of conditions under which a planet can possess liquid water on its surface and potentially support life. The boundaries of this zone vary based on factors such as the type and characteristics of the star (size, temperature, and brightness), the planet’s atmosphere, and its orbital path. However, habitability is not limited to individual star systems and can be applied at larger scales.

• The Super-Galactic Habitable Zone considers regions within large cosmic structures, such as superclusters, where conditions allow for the development of life. These regions benefit from sufficient metallicity and moderate stellar activity while avoiding intense cosmic threats near galaxy cluster centers or active galactic nuclei.

• The Galactic Habitable Zone refers to areas within a galaxy that are favourable for life, typically within a galactic disk but far enough from the center to avoid destructive forces like supernovae, gamma-ray bursts, and black hole activity, while still ensuring access to the heavy elements required for planet formation.

• The Circumstellar Habitable Zone specifically defines the region around a star where conditions allow for the existence of liquid water. This zone depends on the star’s properties and the planet’s ability to maintain a stable atmosphere and protection from stellar radiation and other local catastrophic events.

Holocene

According to the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), the Holocene is the geological epoch that began at the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago (before year 2000) and that has continued until now. The Holocene has been characterised by a remarkably stable climate, which helped human civilisations to flourish. When the Anthropocene is officially adopted (ICS), its starting date will likely mark the end date of the Holocene.

“The Holocene is (or was) an extraordinarily stable state of the Earth system: temperatures on Earth stabilised at 14±0.5°C. Ecosystems, precipitation patterns, seasons and temperatures settled within narrow "life-supporting" ranges, providing us with the states of the biosphere, hydrosphere, and cryosphere of the Earth as we know it. Earth had barely settled in this stable Holocene state, when we went through the Neolithic revolution, domesticating plants and animals simultaneously across continents on Earth some 10 000 years ago. We became farmers, living in sedentary communities. This was the starting point of civilisations as we know them today. The Holocene state of the planet is the only state of the planet we know for certain can support the modern world as we know it.”

Ref: Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

Holochthony

Holochthony is a concept that refers to the contemporary awareness, shared by an increasing number of people, of their collective belonging to Earth as a common habitat. It calls for the rehabilitation of an ethical, spiritual, and ecological connection with the planet, based on the recognition of our co-evolution with terrestrial ecosystems. This notion does not aim to appropriate or dilute the specific struggles of Indigenous peoples but rather encourages non-Indigenous people to adopt practices of respect and responsibility towards the Earth, inspired by the ancestral knowledge of Indigenous peoples. Holochthony emphasizes that, although not all of us have historical roots in a particular territory, we share a common belonging to the planet and must act as guardians of its stability and resilience. It is thus an invitation to relearn how to live in harmony with nature while valuing and respecting the rights of Indigenous peoples and their unique knowledge.

Hominisation

The evolutionary process of becoming human. It encompasses the biological, cognitive, and cultural evolution that has characterised the transition of early hominids to modern humans. Hominisation includes aspects such as the development of bipedalism, brain enlargement, development of complex language, and the emergence of cultural practices. It also implies a feedback loop where the changes brought about by anthropisation and humanisation have, in turn, influenced human evolution, both biologically and culturally, shaping the very essence of what it means to be human. Also called anthropogenesis.

Humanisation

The semantic transformation of the environment influenced by our symbolic systems. It involves the ways in which human perceptions, interpretations, and cultural values shape our understanding and representation of the world around us. Humanisation includes the process of attributing human-like qualities or values to non-human entities and phenomena, as well as the creation of cultural, linguistic, and artistic expressions that reflect human experiences and worldviews. It highlights the role of human cognition and culture in interpreting and giving meaning to our surroundings and to the planet as a whole.

Industrial Modernity

A set of mutually supporting foundational beliefs and assumptions (ideas), formal and informal rules (institutions), and characteristic behaviour (practices) encompassing the domains of the natural environment (as a source of inputs), science, technology and innovation that characterize two or more successive great surges of development, and have become so widespread that they can be found in almost any socio-technical system in almost any contemporary industrial society.

Ref: Deep Transitions: Towards a comprehensive framework for mapping major continuities and ruptures in industrial modernity, 2022.

IPAT

The IPAT equation is a conceptual formula proposed to estimate the impact of human activity on the environment. It is expressed as:

Impact = Population × Affluence × Technology

Where:

1. Impact
   Refers to the environmental impact, often measured in terms of resource depletion, depredation, waste, and pollution.

2. Population
   Denotes the number of people. Greater population increases demand for resources and leads to more waste and pollution.

3. Affluence
   Represents the level of consumption per person. Higher affluence typically increases per capita consumption, which can lead to greater environmental impact.

4. Technology
   Refers to the processes and methods used to produce goods and services. Technology can either increase or decrease the environmental impact depending on how it affects resource use and waste production.

Kardashev Scale

The Kardashev Scale, formulated by Soviet astronomer Nikola Kardashev in 1964, is a system for measuring and categorising the technological advancement of a civilisation based on its energy consumption. It defines three types of civilisations:

1. Type I · Planetary Civilisation
   This civilisation type consumes about 10^16 watts of power, utilizing all major energy sources available from its home planet, including fossil fuels, nuclear energy, wind, solar, geothermal, and tidal power. This category includes the current human civilization on Earth.

2. Type II · Stellar Civilisation
   Consuming 10^26 watts, a Type II civilisation can harness and store all the energy released by its parent star. This level of power consumption may involve immense constructions like a Dyson sphere, Matryoshka Brain, or other forms of planetary system networks or star lift. This civilisation might also harness energy from black hole accretion disks and matter-antimatter annihilation.

3. Type III · Galactic Civilisation
   With an energy consumption of 10^36 watts, a Type III civilisation can access and control a significant portion of the energy generated by its entire galaxy. This could involve manipulating space-time and leveraging highly theoretical energy sources like white holes and supermassive black holes.

It is estimated that humanity is at ~0.728 on the Kardashev Scale.

Nature Futures Framework

The Nature Futures Framework (NFF) is a conceptual tool developed by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). It is designed to facilitate the development of scenarios and models that envision desirable futures for nature and people. The framework emphasizes the diverse values that underpin relationships between people and nature, aiming to bridge various ways humans value nature in efforts to create more nature-centered visions and scenarios.

The framework identifies three main value perspectives that influence the relationship between people and nature:

1. Nature for Nature (NN)
   This perspective emphasizes the intrinsic value of nature, focusing on conservation and protection.

2. Nature for Society (NS)
   This perspective underscores the instrumental value of nature, highlighting its utility for human society.

3. Nature as Culture/One with Nature (NC)
   This perspective values the relational aspects of nature, emphasizing cultural and spiritual connections with the natural world.

Overshoot

Refers to a situation where humanity's demand on nature exceeds the Earth's biocapacity to regenerate resources and absorb waste, including carbon emissions. This concept implies that human consumption and waste production are occurring at a rate faster than the ecosystem can replenish and recover. Overshoot leads to the depletion of ecological reserves, such as forests, fisheries, and clean air, and results in long-term damage to the environment, including loss of biodiversity, deforestation, and climate change.

Currently, humanity's demand for goods and services exceeds the Earth's capacity to provide them by 75%, meaning we are consuming resources as if we had 1.75 Earths, despite only having one.

Ref: Global Footprint Network / Earth Overshoot Day

‘Overview Effect’

The Overview Effect, coined in 1987 by space philosopher Frank White, describes the profound psychological shift experienced by astronauts when observing Earth from space. This effect combines an overwhelming sense of awe with a cognitive reorientation, often leading to feelings of self-transcendence—a dissolving of personal and national boundaries in favor of seeing Earth as a singular, interconnected whole. Viewing Earth against the vast blackness of space highlights its vulnerability, as the thin atmosphere protecting all life becomes strikingly apparent. This perception of fragility often fosters a deepened commitment to environmental protection, an awareness of humanity’s shared fate, and a sense of responsibility that transcends individual or national interests.

Anthropologically, the Overview Effect is significant as it reveals an innate human capacity to shift perspectives when encountering radically new contexts. Many astronauts describe this experience as akin to a “cosmic consciousness,” reshaping their understanding of human identity and emphasizing the insignificance of ideological divisions. Philosophically, the Overview Effect challenges individuals to reconsider humanity’s place within the universe, often prompting existential reflection on the finite nature of Earth’s resources and the ethical implications of planetary stewardship.

As of 2024, more than 710 people (0.0000086% of the world’s population) have traveled to space, with a significant number reporting this transformative experience. The Overview Effect has since inspired educational and environmental movements, utilizing this rare perspective to promote global citizenship, empathy, and a collective commitment to sustaining the planet’s ecosystems.

Planetarisation

The cultural process of collectively becoming aware of the planetary characteristics and attributes of our habitat. This involves recognising its natural cycles, tipping points, planetary boundaries, synergies and processes as integral components of an interconnected and resilient equilibrium. This equilibrium is unique to the planetary nature and scale, reflecting the complex interplay of global systems that cannot be replicated or fully understood at smaller scales.

Planetarity

The ontological condition of being inextricably embedded within the Earth's complex, evolving, and interconnected biogeochemical systems and feedback loops that span the entire ecosphere. This condition challenges traditional notions of the "global" or the "world" and has been progressively acknowledged over time through exploration and the development of human knowledge, including scientific and technological advancements. It calls for a recognition of our interdependence with the Earth's systems and the development of a more holistic, integrated, and sustainable approach to living within the planetary boundaries. Planetarity is complemented by the concept of geographicity, which focuses on the human experience and understanding of being embedded within the Earth's systems, and together they provide a comprehensive framework for grappling with the complexities of the human-Earth relationship in the face of pressing global challenges.

Planetary

Of or relating to the entire Earth, operating at the scale of the planet. It encompasses the intricate interplay of physical, chemical, biological, and geological components that shape the ecosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. Planetary phenomena exhibit unique patterns, cycles, emergent properties, feedback loops, tipping points, and complex interactions that can only be fully understood from a holistic, global perspective, transcending traditional boundaries and divisions. The planetary scale also involves the recognition of the Earth's finite resources, the interconnectedness of all life forms, and the long-term consequences of human actions on the planet's systems. The term underscores the need for a comprehensive and integrated approach to understanding and nurturing our relationship with the planet, especially in light of the far-reaching impact of thermo-industrial activities and the challenges posed by planetary issues such as a warming climate and the degradation on biosphere integrity.

Planetary Antifragility

The capacity of Earth's life-support systems to benefit from shocks, stressors, and uncertainties, adapting and evolving over geological timescales in response to various disturbances, thereby enhancing the planet's resilience and ability to maintain conditions conducive to life. In the context of sustainability and Earth system science, planetary antifragility is proposed as an additional dimension to be considered alongside the concept of planetary boundaries when defining the safe operating space for humanity. It emphasizes the importance of maintaining and fostering the Earth's inherent ability to withstand and even thrive under changing environmental conditions, ensuring the long-term stability and habitability of the planet in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures and uncertainties.

Ref: Planetary antifragility: a new dimension in the definition of the safe operating space for humanity, 2022.

Planetary Awareness

Planetary awareness is the comprehensive understanding and appreciation of our planet's finite, rare, and fragile life support system. This concept is rooted in the recognition of Earth's significant impacts due to human activities, necessitating a fundamental shift in our worldviews, institutions, and technologies. It emphasises the importance of global citizenship (global identities) and collective action in an era of rapid global change. By focusing on worldviews or cosmovisions, planetary awareness encourages a unified, meaningful planetary perspective, fostering increased planetary consciousness, empathy, compassion, and global thinking. It involves making data, information, and knowledge accessible and relevant to diverse cultures and individuals, aiming to transform how the world is perceived, imagined, and comprehended on a global scale.

Planetary Boundaries (PBs)

The framework of Planetary Boundaries (PB) defines and quantifies a Safe Operating Space for humanity (SOS) on Earth, and emerges from the scientific understanding that human activities are globally impacting the Earth system and its functions, approaching tipping points that can lead to a permanent departure from benign Holocene conditions that modern civilisations depend on to flourish. Transgression of boundaries brings humanity at risk of triggering major and potentially irreversible changes in the ability of the Earth to support humanity’s continued development. The 🔺 symbol indicates that the safe boundary has been transgressed.

1. 🌡️ Climate Change 🔺
   This boundary is defined by atmospheric CO2 concentration and total anthropogenic radiative forcing. The planetary boundary is set at 350 ppm CO2 and +1.0 W/m². The current value is 417 ppm CO2 and +2.91 W/m², indicating a transgression of this boundary.

2. 🧬 Change in Biosphere Integrity 🔺
   This boundary is concerned with genetic diversity (extinctions per million species-years, or E/MSY) and the functional integrity of the biosphere, measured as the percentage of human appropriation of net primary production (HANPP). The boundary for genetic diversity is less than 10 E/MSY, and for functional integrity, it is less than 10% HANPP. Currently, the extinction rate is above 100 E/MSY, and HANPP is at 30%, both exceeding the boundary limits.

3. 🛡️ Stratospheric Ozone Depletion
   This boundary is based on the stratospheric O3 concentration (global average in Dobson Units, DU). The boundary is set at less than a 5% reduction from the preindustrial level, assessed by latitude (~276 DU). The current level is 284.6 DU, which is within the safe operating space.

4. 🐚 Ocean Acidification
   The boundary is defined by the carbonate ion concentration average global surface ocean saturation state with respect to aragonite (Ωarag). The boundary is ≥80% Ωarag of the mean preindustrial aragonite saturation state. The current value is approximately 2.8 Ωarag, close to breaching the boundary.

5. 🌾 Biogeochemical Flows (Phosphorus & Nitrogen cycles) 🔺
   The boundaries for phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) are concerned with their flows from human activities to the environment. The boundary for phosphorus is set at 11 Tg of P/year globally and 6.2 Tg of P/year regionally. The current global P flow is 22.6 Tg/year. For nitrogen, the boundary is set at 62 Tg of N/year, with the current value being 190 Tg of N/year. Both these boundaries are exceeded.

6. 🌳 Land System Change 🔺
   This boundary is defined by the area of forested land as a percentage of original forest cover, with specific targets for different biomes (tropical, temperate, boreal). The boundary values are 85% for tropical, 50% for temperate, and 85% for boreal forests. The current global forest cover is 60%, indicating a breach of this boundary, especially in the tropical regions.

7. 💦 Freshwater Change 🔺
   This boundary is defined by human-induced disturbance of blue and green water flow, with the boundary set at the upper limit (95th percentile) of global land area with deviations greater than during preindustrial times. The limits are 10.2% for blue water (water in rivers, lakes, wetlands, and aquifers) and 11.1% for green water (precipitation that is absorbed by soil and vegetation and then released back into the atmosphere). The current values are 18.2% for blue water and 15.8% for green water, surpassing the boundary.

8. ☁️ Atmospheric Aerosol Loading
   This boundary is defined by the interhemispheric difference in aerosol optical depth (AOD), a measure of aerosols in the atmosphere. The boundary is set at 0.1 for the mean annual interhemispheric difference. The current value is approximately 0.076, within the safe operating space but close to the boundary limit.

9. 🔬 Novel Entities 🔺
   This boundary relates to synthetic chemicals and materials introduced into the environment, including microplastics, endocrine disruptors, and organic pollutants. A specific quantitative boundary has not been established for novel entities, but it is acknowledged that the safe operating space is currently overstepped.

We may categorize planetary boundaries into three broad groups:

1. Global Planetary Boundaries: Climate, Ocean, and Ozone. These boundaries affect the entire Earth system and have global-scale impacts.

2. Biospheric Planetary Boundaries: Biodiversity, Land, Freshwater, and Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus cycles). These boundaries primarily concern the living systems of the Earth and their interactions with the physical environment.

3. 'Alien' Planetary Boundaries: Pollution (e.g., synthetic chemicals, genetically modified organisms) and Aerosols. These boundaries involve human-introduced elements that are foreign to natural Earth systems.

Ref: Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries, 2023.
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Planetary Commons

The concept of Planetary Commons encompasses Earth's key regulating elements, subsystems, and their functions, vital for sustaining life globally, regardless of their geographical location. This includes major domains of the Earth system such as the atmosphere, oceans, land, and the cryosphere, which interact with the biosphere, including humans. It also covers large Earth sub-systems critical for the Earth system's structure, function, and stability, providing essential conditions for sustainable livelihoods for current and future human and non-human life. These include the tipping elements, but also systems like the Congo and Southeast Asian rainforests, temperate forests, wetlands, and coastal blue carbon ecosystems, as they regulate the Earth system, even though they might not have documented evidence of non-linear and irreversible change behaviour. Maintaining these biophysical systems close to their Holocene conditions is crucial for the Earth system's capacity to support life. [We argue that knowledge could be considered part of the planetary commons, due to its significant impact on the ecosphere's evolution and fate.]

Ref: The planetary commons: A new paradigm for safeguarding Earth-regulating systems in the Anthropocene, 2024.

Planetary Education

Planetary education is a comprehensive, transdisciplinary educational approach that fosters a holistic understanding of the world and nurtures empathy, resilience, and adaptability in students, with the goal of equipping them to effectively address global challenges and contribute to a more equitable and sustainable future.

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Planetary Emergency

A planetary emergency can be formally defined as a critical and urgent situation at a global scale where both the risk and urgency of environmental and climatic challenges are extremely high. This concept encompasses situations where the probability and potential damage of ecological tipping points are significant (high risk), and the time left to effectively intervene and prevent catastrophic outcomes is critically short (high urgency). In such a state, the stability and resilience of Earth's ecosystems are at imminent risk, necessitating immediate and decisive international action to mitigate and reverse the damage.

E = R×U = p×D×τ/T

An emergency (E) is determined by combining two factors: risk and urgency.

• Risk (R) is about how likely something bad will happen and how severe the damage could be. It's calculated by multiplying the probability (p) of the event happening by the potential damage (D) it could cause.

• Urgency (U) deals with how quickly we need to respond to prevent a bad outcome. It's calculated by taking the reaction time to an alert (τ) and dividing it by the time remaining to act before things get worse (T).

So, the formula for an emergency is E = R × U, which expands to p × D × τ/T.

In simple terms, a situation is an emergency when both the risk of something bad happening is high, and the need to act quickly is also high. If our reaction time (τ) is longer than the time left to act (T), meaning τ / T is greater than 1, it means we’re too late to control the situation effectively.

Ref: Climate tipping points — too risky to bet against, 2019.
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Planetary Institutions

As suggested by Jonathan Blake and Nils Gilman in their book ‘Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises’ (2024), a planetary institution is a governance body designed to operate at the global scale, addressing issues that exceed the capacities of national and international institutions by providing targeted, authoritative, and enforceable solutions to planetary challenges such as climate change, pandemics, and ecological disruptions. These institutions function based on the principles of planetary sapience and planetary subsidiarity, setting broad targets and policies while allowing national and local entities to manage implementation details, thereby ensuring the habitability of Earth and the flourishing of diverse human and nonhuman communities.

Planetary Intelligence

Planetary Intelligence can be defined as the acquisition and application of collective knowledge and cognitive processes operating at a planetary scale, integrated into the function of coupled planetary systems. These components collectively contribute to the ability of a planetary system to act intelligently, adaptively, and sustainably at a global scale:

1. Emergence
   The collective properties and behaviours at a planetary scale that cannot be predicted from or reduced to individual parts.

2. Information & Networks
   The flow of semantic and syntactic information through biospheric and technospheric networks, enabling complex communication and interaction.

3. Complex Systems
   The operation of Planetary Intelligence as a Complex Adaptive System (CAS), marked by self-organized patterns and behaviors emerging from local interactions.

4. Autopoiesis
   The self-creating and self-maintaining nature of planetary intelligence, ensuring the persistence and resilience of the system.

5. Global Regulatory Feedback Loops
   The development of feedback mechanisms for maintaining planetary equilibrium, essential for long-term sustainability and stability of the Technosphere and Biosphere.

Ref: Intelligence as a planetary scale process, 2022.

Planetary Literacy

Planetary literacy refers to a comprehensive understanding and appreciation of the intricate relationships and interdependencies between human societies and Earth's various systems, including the biosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere, geosphere, and their inherent cycles and motifs, as well as the concept of planetary commons. It encompasses an awareness of the ecosphere as the integrated, habitable space that sustains life, highlighting the interconnectedness of all Earth systems that collectively form a delicate balance enabling life to thrive. This literacy emphasizes the need for informed and responsible stewardship of our planet, recognizing the urgency of addressing planetary emergencies stemming from human-induced changes and disruptions. It advocates for an informed global citizenry equipped with the knowledge and skills to make decisions that protect and preserve the integrity of Earth's systems, ensuring the well-being of present and future generations within the dynamic and interconnected web of life that constitutes our ecosphere.

Planetary Politics

A novel form of political contestation that emerges from the development of planetary institutions and the commitment to planetary sapience. It transcends the boundaries of national and international politics, focusing on the interests and well-being of the planet as a whole, including both human societies and the entire Earth system with its diverse multispecies communities. Planetary politics is inherently postanthropocentric, seeking to include the voices, interests, and agencies of nonhuman entities through various forms of representation. It aims to address conflicts and make decisions at the scale of the planet, based on a comprehensive assessment of the costs and benefits to all parties involved, while recognizing that human flourishing is inseparable from the flourishing of the larger multispecies community. Ultimately, planetary politics represents a transformative shift in the nature of political engagement, redefining the scope of political possibility in response to the profound challenges posed by the condition of planetarity in the Anthropocene.

Ref: Children of a Modest Star: Planetary Thinking for an Age of Crises, 2024.

Planetary Stewardship

The active and responsible management of Earth's systems and resources in response to the unique challenges presented by the Anthropocene. This concept emphasizes the need for a global-scale solution that goes beyond national and cultural boundaries, acknowledging humanity's profound impact on the Earth System. This concept involves directing global change by considering interconnected local to global levels. The goal is to ensure the long-term well-being of both humanity and the natural world, including ecosystems and the global commons. Achieving holistic solutions necessitates a shift in the way we perceive and interact with the world, as the transformation of society commences with a fundamental change in our perspectives and worldviews.

Planetary Sapience

Planetary Sapience is an emergent meta-capability of humanity, marked by a profound shift in collective consciousness towards a holistic understanding of Earth's complex systems. This evolved planetary awareness permeates societal structures, cultural expressions, and individual behaviors, fostering a dynamic, co-evolving equilibrium between Ecogenic Systems (biosphere, climate, hydrosphere, geosphere) and Anthropogenic Systems (worldviews, institutions, technologies, settlements).

This form of wisdom or axiological posture arises through intentional, coordinated transformations across various domains, blending modern scientific understanding of planetary dynamics with diverse cultural traditions centered on responsible stewardship. It embodies both novel insights into Earth's histories, cycles, and patterns, and ancient knowledge practices focused on guardianship of the planet.

Encompassing David Grinspoon's concept of "Planetary Change of the Fourth Kind," Planetary Sapience signifies a transformative phase in Earth's evolution. This stage, termed 'Terra Sapiens' or 'Sapiezoic,' is characterized by humanity's maturation into wise planetary stewards. It represents a shift towards more integrated, conscious, and sustainable interactions with Earth's systems, reflecting a deep understanding and responsible management of the planet's resources and ecosystems.

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An other definition of planetary sapience has been proposed by Benjamin Bratton from the Berggruen Institute, which sees it as the product of planetary-scale computation. Thus, planetary sapience is envisioned as the development of a global, interconnected cognitive and sensory system facilitated by advanced computational technologies, enabling the Earth to achieve a form of self-awareness and responsive intelligence that monitors and manages ecological and climatic phenomena. This emergent intelligence, constituting a technological and philosophical evolution, challenges and transforms human interactions with the Earth, promoting a deliberate and sustainable engagement with the planet's systems.

‘Precipice’

Term used to describe a particularly critical and dangerous era in human history, predominantly spanning from 1945, when humanity first gained the power to trigger its own destruction, up until now. This period is distinguished by an acute increase in existential risks, i.e. threats that could lead to human extinction or the irretrievable collapse of civilisation. The ‘Precipice’ is defined by the imbalance between humanity's rapidly growing power and its relatively lagging wisdom. This disparity leads to an unsustainable level of risk, suggesting that without significant changes, these risks might escalate in future centuries. The term encapsulates the idea that humanity is walking along a narrow, dangerous path on the edge of a cliff, where a misstep could lead to catastrophic consequences.

Ref: The Precipice, 2021.
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Regime Shift

A shift in a system state from one stable state to another. Regime shifts are often large, sudden and long-lasting.

Resilience

Socio-ecological system (SES) resilience is the ability of people, communities, societies, or cultures to live and develop with change and with ever-changing environments. It is about cultivating the capacity to continue to develop in the face of change, incremental and abrupt, expected and surprising.

Resilience is categorized into three distinct levels:

1. Shock Tolerance
   The capacity of a system to absorb disturbances and reorganise while undergoing change, retaining its essential function, structure, feedbacks, and identity. This dynamic concept emphasizes the ability to persist and evolve with change.

2. Adaptability
   The capacity of people in a social-ecological system to learn, innovate, and adjust to changing external drivers and internal processes. Adaptability involves human actions that sustain development within existing pathways, turning changes into opportunities, and is crucial for maintaining social-ecological resilience.

3. Transformability
   The ability to shift development into new pathways and create novel ones, particularly when existing ecological, economic, or social structures are untenable. Transformability involves crossing thresholds and moving into new development trajectories, often utilising resilience from different levels and scales. It's about navigating and exploiting crises for fundamental system changes.

Ref: Resilience: The emergence of a perspective for social–ecological systems analyses, 2006.

Safe Operating Space

The Safe Operating Space is defined as the set of scientifically-determined thresholds for nine critical biophysical systems and processes, known as planetary boundaries, which are essential for regulating Earth's life support systems, ensuring the stability and resilience of the Earth system as a whole. Crossing these boundaries could lead to a significantly less hospitable planet and threaten the long-term sustainability of human civilisation.

Stable State

A state that a system will return to for some range of initial conditions or perturbations away from that state. Stability is maintained by negative feedback loops that resist change. 

Technosphere

The technosphere is the interconnected system of all technological and artificial structures created by humans, encompassing their physical and digital networks, infrastructures, and technologies. It includes urban environments, transportation networks, communication systems, as well as the broader array of human-made technologies and artifacts that interact with and impact Earth's natural systems. The technosphere is a key component in understanding the Anthropocene epoch, as it represents the significant influence human activities and technologies have on the planet's geology, ecosystems, and climate.

Tipping Points (climate)

Tipping points occur when change in part of the climate system becomes (2) self-perpetuating beyond (2) a warming threshold as a result of asymmetry in the relevant feedbacks, leading to (3) substantial and widespread Earth system impacts. These impacts can be abrupt and dangerous, with very serious implications for the future of humanity and our planet. As the world gets hotter, several tipping points are becoming very likely. Sixteen climate tipping points have been identified:

Global Warming Thresholds: 🔴 <2°C 🟠 2-4°C 🟡 ≥4°C

1. 🔴 Greenland Ice Sheet · collapse

2. 🔴 West Antarctic Ice Sheet · collapse

3. 🔴 Low-Latitude Coral Reefs · die-off

4. 🔴 Boreal Permafrost · abrupt thaw

5. 🔴 Labrador Sea Current · Subpolar Gyre · collapse

6. 🔴 Barents Sea Ice · abrupt loss

7. 🟠 Amazon Rainforest · dieback

8. 🟠 Sahel / West African Monsoon · greening

9. 🟠 East Antarctic Subglacial Basins · collapse

10. 🟠 Extra-Polar Mountain Glaciers · loss

11. 🟡 Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation · collapse

12. 🟡 Arctic Winter Sea Ice · collapse

13. 🟡 Boreal Permafrost · collapse

14. 🟡 Boreal Forest · northern expansion

15. 🟡 Boreal Forest · southern dieback

16. 🟡 East Antarctic Ice Sheet · collapse

Ref: Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points, 2022.
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World-Earth Resilience (WER)

World-Earth Resilience encompasses the integrated resilience of both the Earth's natural systems (Earth System) and human societal systems (World System). It focuses on how these two interconnected systems can adapt, persist, and transform in response to environmental and social challenges. WER emphasises the need to manage and sustain the Earth's ecosystems and resources while ensuring the wellbeing and equitable development of human societies. This concept requires understanding and addressing the complex interactions between ecological processes, human activities, and the broader social, economic, and political contexts. WER aims to guide actions and policies towards sustaining a resilient planet capable of supporting diverse life, including human civilisations, in a balanced and sustainable manner.

Ref: Conceptualizing World-Earth System resilience: Exploring transformation pathways towards a safe and just operating space for humanity, 2022.

World-Earth System (WES)

Planetary-scale systems consisting of the interacting biophysical subsystems of the Earth (ES), and the social, cultural, economic and technological subsystems of the World of human societies (WS). World-Earth System is understood as a co-evolving Geosphere-Biosphere-Anthroposphere system.