World-leading scientist addresses global sustainability
Professor Johan Rockström, Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre will visit the country next week, and will
present the 'NZCGS 5th Global Affairs Lecture', at the University of Auckland.
Considered one of the world’s leading thinkers on global sustainability, Professor Rockström’s lecture is entitled The
Planetary Boundaries: Implications for Global Governance in the 21st Century.
Professor Rockström led the team of Earth system and environmental scientists who developed the innovative Planetary
Boundaries concept. This is the idea that there are nine Earth system processes that define the limits required to
uphold the world’s environmental safe zone. They are a framework which marks a threshold that should not be crossed.
The boundaries are based on scientific evidence that human activity is the main driver of global environmental change.
By defining the boundaries, action can be taken to preserve Earth’s resilience.
The nine boundaries (climate change, biodiversity loss, the biogeochemical cycle on Earth, ocean acidification, land
use, fresh water availability, ozone depletion, atmospheric aerosol levels, and chemical pollution), are meant as
scientifically determined sustainability guidelines for governments and corporations.
Professor Rockström is the Hillary Institute’s 2017 global Hillary Laureate. The Institute has brought him to New
Zealand to work directly with Government and the public and private sectors. His visit to Auckland is in association
with the New Zealand Centre for Global Studies (NZCGS) and the New Zealand Centre for Environmental Law at the
University of Auckland’s Faculty of Law.
He will be joining five other prominent experts in the field who will give short presentations as well as taking part in
a question and answer session.