Together with other members of The Earth League, Arizona State University's Denise Moreno Ramírez, Paula Mirazo, and Peter Schlosser are corresponding authors on Living Beyond Limits: Consequences of Missing the Decisive Decade for Preserving Our Planet's Life-Supporting System, a new publication in One Earth. The authors argue in this commentary that political inaction since the Paris Agreement signed in 2015, has pushed the planet further into ecological overshoot, with global warming on track to exceed 1.5°C. They note that most of the planet's safe operating limits have already been surpassed.
According to the authors, humanity faces its ultimate challenge due to its failure so far in addressing the escalating risks, which are pushing the world into a deepening crisis. We have to rapidly adopt new pathways that reduce negative impacts and optimize regeration. Today, we exceed our planet’s capacity to sustain life, depriving billions of basic needs amid rising conflict. Yet, with collective will, we can bridge the gap between knowledge and action to safeguard life-support on Earth.
The Earth League Secretariat is based at Arizona State University, and consists of Assistant Director Moreno, Assistant Research Professional Mirazo, and Schlosser, Vice President and Vice Provost of Global Futures, Julie Ann Wrigley Global Futures Laboratory. The Earth League is co-chaired by ASU's Schlosser and Johan Rockström from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany.
