EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries

The brief explores the application of the Planetary Boundaries framework to EU policy, using an equal-per-capita allocation approach to determine a 'fair share' of the global safe operating space. It finds that the EU significantly exceeds its per capita limits for climate change and biogeochemical flows, and that EU consumption exerts higher pressure on several boundaries than the global average. While existing EU policy instruments offer entry points for integrating these boundaries, they currently fail to address the EU's international environmental footprint or the interactions between different planetary processes.

• The EU exceeds its fair share of the global safe operating space when using an equal-per-capita allocation approach, specifically regarding biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus) and climate change.
• Consumption by EU citizens places greater pressure on the Planetary Boundaries for water use, land use, biogeochemical flows, and climate change than the global average.
• Current EU policy instruments provide opportunities to integrate the Planetary Boundaries framework, but they are insufficient because they ignore the EU's international environmental footprint and the interactions between different planetary processes.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2017). EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries. https://www.sei.org/publications/eu-policy-into-line-planetary-boundaries/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries. 2017. https://www.sei.org/publications/eu-policy-into-line-planetary-boundaries/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries |date=20 April 2017 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/eu-policy-into-line-planetary-boundaries/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2017policy, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{EU policy into line with Planetary Boundaries}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2017}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/eu-policy-into-line-planetary-boundaries/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }