Search Climate Insights Directory

This briefing by the Stockholm Environment Institute explores the operationalization of the Planetary Boundaries framework for the European Union. By downscaling global safe operating spaces using an equal-per-capita allocation, the document assesses the EU's environmental performance and suggests entry points for integrating these boundaries into EU policy-making to ensure the region lives within planetary limits.

This policy brief explores the application of the Planetary Boundaries framework to EU policy-making, proposing an equal-per-capita allocation method to translate global limits into EU-scale benchmarks. It finds that the EU exceeds its fair share of the global safe operating space in several key areas and suggests that while EU policy instruments offer entry points for mainstreaming these boundaries, they currently fail to address process interactions or the EU's international environmental footprint.