Nine Limits, Six Breached: The Planetary Boundaries Crisis Explained
Release Date: 04/17/2025
Nine Limits, Six Breached: The Planetary Boundaries Crisis Explained
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Dr. Levke Caeser of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, as we dive into the planetary boundaries framework and the risks of overstepping the limits of earth systems. Planetary boundaries are the biological and physical limits that define a “safe operating space” for humanity on Earth. But today, many of these limits – including those related to land, freshwater, climate, and biodiversity – have been dangerously exceeded. As a result, we’re now entering uncharted territory. So in today’s episode, we’ll be exploring the consequences of breaching these...
info_outline
Flawed Models, Fragile Systems: The Risks in Energy & Food Policy
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Prof. Aled Jones, Director of the Global Sustainability Institute at Anglia Ruskin University, as we dive into the role of models in shaping policy, and particularly their weaknesses. Models are not neutral – they reflect the assumptions, values, and agendas of those that create and use them. Using the energy system as an example, models can (and have been) used to protect the status quo. In part, this is because many of the models are based on the notions of ‘equilibrium’ and so they simply can’t cope with major structural changes, such as the current energy...
info_outline
Beyond Climate: A Risk Professionals’ Guide to the Biodiversity COPs
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Eva Zabey, CEO of Business for Nature, as we dive into the complex landscape of environmental diplomacy, and the role of business in halting and reversing biodiversity loss. We know that our economies depend on nature. But with biodiversity loss and climate change both putting pressure on ecosystems, businesses and financial institutions are facing increasing risks. In recognition of this, there is action on the policy front, and with global biodiversity agreements taking shape, the question isn’t whether firms should act – but how they can do so effectively. That’s why in...
info_outline
The CSRD Effect: How Regulation is Elevating Nature Risk
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Sebastian Leape, CEO of Natcap, as we explore how regulation such as the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is pushing nature risk to the top of firms’ sustainability agendas. At GARP, we’ve been benchmarking financial firms’ climate and nature risk management capabilities since 2019, and we see that nature is lagging climate risk by several years. But things are changing, and part of that change is driven by new regulations – such as the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive or CSRD – where firms are being asked to report on a range of...
info_outline
What We Learned About Climate and Nature Risk in 2024
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Jo Paisley and Maxine Nelson of the GARP Risk Institute as they look back on key learnings from the latest season of the Climate Risk Podcast. As we head into 2025, the GARP Climate Risk Podcast kicks off the new year with a retrospective on the past 12 months, reviewing the key themes and insights that emerged during 2024. From soil scientists to policymakers, financial experts to climate modelers, we’ve welcomed a diverse range of guests to share their expertise. This episode revisits some of the key learnings from these conversations and highlights the invaluable advice...
info_outline
Modelling Economic Complexity: Insights for Risk Professionals
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Prof. J. Doyne Farmer, Professor of Complex Systems Science at the University of Oxford, as we explore new modelling approaches designed to better capture the complex and chaotic nature of our climate and economy. We spend a lot of time on this podcast covering the transition to a low carbon economy, which will be driven largely by policies and technological innovation. These policies tend to be based on insights from economics. And our view on the pace of innovation is often informed by expert judgement. But traditional economic models often oversimplify the world, leading to poor...
info_outline
Predicting Our Climate Future: What We Do, Don’t and Can’t Know
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Prof. David Stainforth of LSE’s Grantham Research Institute, as we explore the limitations of climate modelling and the implications for risk management. There are some things in life that we can be virtually certain about: if one throws a ball into the air, it will fall back down. Similarly, scientists have evidence beyond reasonable doubt that atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased a lot in the recent past. But there are quite a lot of things that we don’t know with any confidence, giving rise to significant uncertainty when we try to forecast those...
info_outline
How to Fix Climate Change & Biodiversity Loss at the Same Time
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Prof. Pete Smith of the University of Aberdeen, as we explore the overlap in the challenges from, and solutions to, climate change and biodiversity loss. Climate change and biodiversity loss are often treated separately – in science, policy, and even risk management. But as the connections between these global crises come into sharper focus, it’s clear that understanding them together is essential for real progress. In this episode, we break down those silos of climate and nature, exploring an integrated approach and how it might help us address these challenges...
info_outline
Carbon Pricing: Harnessing the Power of Markets to Drive Climate Action
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from Gordon Bennett, Managing Director at ICE, as we dive into theory and practice of carbon pricing and its important role in driving the transition to net zero. Carbon pricing is the poster child of market-based solutions to climate change. The principle is simple: by assigning a cost to greenhouse gas emissions, we incentivize polluters to emit less, and to do so in the most cost-effective way. But there’s a significant gap between the theory and practice. Currently, only 24% of global emissions – about 12.8 gigatonnes – are covered by pricing mechanisms such as carbon taxes...
info_outline
Rethinking Natural Catastrophe Modeling: New Approaches for a Changing Climate
Climate Risk Podcast
Hear from three leading experts in natural catastrophe modeling, as we explore how climate change is causing the insurance industry to rethink their approach to modeling extreme weather. In the previous episode, we discussed the challenges facing the insurance industry from climate change – so in this episode, we’re going to dive into some of the solutions. Since natural catastrophe (Nat Cat) modeling was established in the late 1980s, the predictive power of their models has come from the statistical analysis of historical data. But as climate change continues to push the frequency and...
info_outlineHear from Dr. Levke Caeser of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, as we dive into the planetary boundaries framework and the risks of overstepping the limits of earth systems.
Planetary boundaries are the biological and physical limits that define a “safe operating space” for humanity on Earth. But today, many of these limits – including those related to land, freshwater, climate, and biodiversity – have been dangerously exceeded. As a result, we’re now entering uncharted territory.
So in today’s episode, we’ll be exploring the consequences of breaching these limits, and how we might get ourselves back on track. We’ll discuss:
- The science and selection process behind the planetary boundaries framework;
- Why we have failed to govern these global risks; and
- What actions can now be taken to correct our course and mitigate the risks.
To find out more about the Sustainability and Climate Risk (SCR®) Certificate, follow this link: https://www.garp.org/scr
For more information on climate risk, visit GARP’s Global Sustainability and Climate Risk Resource Center: https://www.garp.org/sustainability-climate
If you have any questions, thoughts, or feedback regarding this podcast series, we would love to hear from you at: [email protected]
Links from today’s discussion
- Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK): https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/home
- PIK Planetary Boundaries Science Lab: https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/institute/labs/pbscience
- Climate Tipping Points Explained: https://www.garp.org/risk-intelligence/sustainability-climate/climate-tipping-points-250106
Speaker’s Bio(s)
Dr. Levke Caeser, Co-Lead for Planetary Boundaries Science, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
Levke is a climate scientist specializing in Earth system dynamics and planetary boundaries science. Her work focuses on understanding the impacts of human activities on global systems, with a particular emphasis on ocean circulation, climate tipping points, and sustainability. Dr. Caesar is co-leading the Planetary Boundaries Science team (PBScience), contributing to advancing the representation of Earth's systems in global frameworks. She combines expertise in data analysis, interdisciplinary collaboration, and science communication to drive impactful research and foster innovative solutions for global environmental challenges.