Planetary Boundaries – Constructive Advanced Thinking Group

As part of the residency of the CAT (Constructive Advanced Thinking) group at the MAK’IT Institute, led by Marion Lemoine-Schonne, we will have the pleasure, on March 26, 2026, of discovering the results of their project “Metamorphoses of Law(s)? A critical exploration of planetary boundaries and their meaning for the law relating to the environment.” This event is organized in partnership with the KIPPT.

Presentation

The concept of “planetary boundaries” is a new interdisciplinary framework that identifies nine global processes (climate, biodiversity, ozone, pollution, etc.) as thresholds that should not be crossed. Originating from Earth system science, it invites reflection on the finiteness of resources, the systemic interactions behind environmental degradation, and ultimately, on humanity’s place among other living species on Earth. Below these thresholds, humanity could continue to live within a “safe operating space”, characterized by a balance that would not require radical lifestyle changes compared to the Holocene epoch. Beyond these ecological limits, abrupt, non-linear, and potentially irreversible changes could occur, transforming the planet toward an unknown state. Seven of these limits have already been exceeded. Despite significant developments in environmental law over the past thirty years, global problems such as climate change, biodiversity loss, and ocean acidification are worsening at an unprecedented rate, while the law remains largely anthropocentric. Some legal instruments contribute to integrating the characteristics of these planetary boundaries, aiming for a systemic protection of ecosystems and greater respect for all living beings. But what is their transformative impact on law across different scales and branches (economic law, human rights law, environmental law)? Could the planetary boundaries framework be better integrated into legal systems?