BACHELOR IO-TUDELFT
,WEEK 1 REQUIRED LITERATURE
Let the environment guide our development by Johan Rockstrom & Planetary boundaries:
Guiding human development on a changing planet: : The quadruple squeeze -Population
growth dilemma: more people but most of all small group of elite that creates the most
pressure on the planet of all. -Climate change dilemma -Ecosystem decline dilemma -Surprise
dilemma: Sudden and nonlinear changes in the course of the other dilemmas After losing
resilience a trigger can generate a regime shift flipping a system locking it into a (undesired)
new state, e.g. coral reefs going to an unrepairable broken state.
What are the large environmental processes, what thresholds should be identified that can
lead to non-linear change if passed: There are major 9 thresholds: Large scale variables:
Climate change, Ozone depletion, Ocean acidification Slow variables: Biogeochemical loading:
Global N&P cycles, Rate of biodiversity loss, Land system change, Global freshwater use,
Unquantifiable variables: Atmospheric’ ‘air pollution’ ‘aerosol loading, Chemical pollution
, *Take note that these thresholds are linked and fluctuations in one 1 var. influences others.
A shift in mindset: Sustainable development in the: Persistence(withstand shocks),
Transformability(change during crisis), Adaptability(adapt to problem at hand)
Prepare the system for change (a window of opportunity arises)→ Navigate the transition →
Build resilience in and of the new direction.
CHECK PAGE 52-61 FOR NUMBERS AND MORE DETAIL OF NOTES BELOW
In the Planetary Boundary Framework there is a purposeful margin between PB framework
and real Global threshold. This is to account for Geo Inertia and Societal Inertia, also for the
degree of uncertainty by scientists in assessing the severity of a value. Transgressing a
boundary furthermore does not mean a threshold of the earth’s resilience has been crossed,
it only means the likelihood of this happening is increased. 5 PB’s have strong regional
operating scales: Biosphere integrity, Biogeochemical flows, Land system change, Freshwater
use and Atmospheric aerosol loading.
Climate change: The control variables are atmospheric CO2 concentration in ppm with the
boundary being 350. The other being top-of-atmosphere radiative forcing in Wm^-2 relative
to preindustrial levels with the boundary being +1Wm^-2, both are right now already in the