Projects

Safe & Just Earth System Boundaries

Date Exhibited
2024
Location
World Economic Forum, Davos
Commissioner
Future Earth
Science Partners
Earth Commission
Imagining a safe and just transformation of the climate in the Amazon Rainforest

 

A liveable future depends on the interdependence of human and more-than-human wellbeing in tandem with a resilient earth system.

 

In 2023, a team of leading scientists including Johan Rockström – Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and Joyeeta Gupta – Professor of Environment and Development in the Global South at the University of Amsterdam and, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education – published a groundbreaking piece of new research in Nature.

Entitled ‘Safe and just Earth system boundaries’, the research focuses on how we can stay within five of the nine planetary boundaries critical to stabilising the Earth system: Climate, Biosphere, Freshwater, Nutrients and Aerosols.

What might safe and just earth system boundaries look and feel like?

We were thrilled to partner with Future Earth, Earth Commission and leading scientists to begin to explore what these ‘safe and just earth system boundaries’ might look and feel like.

Exploring urban spaces, farmland, deserts and all in between we visualised the transformative potential of these sites if safe and just earth system boundaries were implemented and maintained.

In developing these visions we asked: What could be the social, cultural and economic benefits of living alongside a river whose flow has not been altered? How would the landscape change if shifted from our current overuse of fertilisers? How will we journey and commute through a thriving urban metropolis?

“If our future is to be liveable we need targets beyond climate. Safety and Justice must be accounted for.

A safe and just transformation to a manageable planet, requires urgent, collective action by multiple actors, especially in government and business to act within Earth system boundaries to keep our life support system of the planet intact.

Stewardship of the global commons has never been more urgent or important.”

 

Wendy Broadgate
Earth Commission Executive Director, and Global Hub Director (Sweden), Future Earth

 

Imagining a safe and just transformation of nutrient management in the Netherlands

Visualising Potential

Working closely with our partners we wanted to ensure these visualisations remained open and non-prescriptive. We visualised one potential route, not the route, toward a future that fits within earth system boundaries. And rather than directly translate the data, we engaged our expertise in worldbuilding to draw out the contextual, social, lived experience of that journey toward a safe and just world.

“Avoiding the displacement of large numbers of people from uninhabitable zones, the collapse of ecosystems and the destruction of our life support systems is not a question of “us and them” or something “for the next CEO to deal with”, it’s about now, and about upholding dignified lives, safe markets, and demand for business continuity.”

 

Joyeeta Gupta and Johan Rockström
World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. Published 17 January 2024

Impact

These visualisations served to stimulate and inspire international leaders and CEOs at Davos with a sense of what could be possible.

We are continuing our partnership with Earth Commission to further deepen our understanding of what interspecies, intergenerational, intragenerational justice might look and feel like.

Imagining a safe and just transformation of aerosols in Delhi

Acknowledgements

With thanks to Maya Rebermark for commissioning this important project.

Special thanks to the authors whose rich and pioneering research set our work in motion:

​​Johan Rockström, Joyeeta Gupta, Dahe Qin, Steven J. Lade, Jesse F. Abrams, Lauren S. Andersen, David I. Armstrong McKay, Xuemei Bai, Govindasamy Bala, Stuart E. Bunn, Daniel Ciobanu, Fabrice DeClerck, Kristie Ebi, Lauren Gifford, Christopher Gordon, Syezlin Hasan, Norichika Kanie, Timothy M. Lenton, Sina Loriani, Diana M. Liverman, Awaz Mohamed, Nebojsa Nakicenovic, David Obura, Daniel Ospina, Klaudia Prodani, Crelis Rammelt, Boris Sakschewski, Joeri Scholtens, Ben Stewart-Koster, Thejna Tharammal, Detlef van Vuuren, Peter H. Verburg, Ricarda Winkelmann, Caroline Zimm, Elena M. Bennett, Stefan Bringezu, Wendy Broadgate, Pamela A. Green, Lei Huang, Lisa Jacobson, Christopher Ndehedehe, Simona Pedde, Juan Rocha, Marten Scheffer, Lena Schulte-Uebbing, Wim de Vries, Cunde Xiao, Chi Xu, Xinwu Xu, Noelia Zafra-Calvo & Xin Zhang

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SUBJECT TO CHANGE: Announcing Superflux’s first-ever solo exhibition at The DROOG Gallery Superflux 04.02.2022
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Design Studio of the Year Award 2021 Superflux 17.12.2021
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Superflux Interview in ICON Magazine Superflux 12.12.2021
“Dreamed-up Designs”: a Financial Times feature on Superflux Superflux 18.06.2021
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Emerging Futures Grant from National Lottery Community Fund Superflux 16.11.2020
‘Standing on the Shoulders’ Podcast: On Plural Futures and Multi-Species Companionship Superflux 01.10.2020
Superflux Invited to La Biennale Di Venezia 2021 Superflux 03.07.2020
EU Horizon 2020 Grant for Superflux and Partners Superflux 19.06.2020
Experiments in Indoor Farming Superflux 08.06.2020
Calling for a More-Than-Human Politics Superflux 23.03.2020
Superflux Feature in ‘Feeling the Future’ Conference Superflux 24.06.2020
Spring in Flux Superflux 14.04.2020
Calling Creative Producers! Superflux 29.01.2020
Inviting Internship Applications Superflux 16.01.2020
Come Work With Us Superflux 01.10.2019
Stop Shouting Future, Start Doing It Anab 24.01.2019
2018 Highlights Superflux 21.12.2018
Instant Archetypes: A toolkit to imagine plural futures Superflux 01.11.2018
TED Talk: Why We Need To Imagine Different Futures Anab 19.06.2017
Cartographies of Imagination Anab 30.09.2018
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The Future Starts Here Superflux 29.05.2018
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Future(s) of Power Launch Event Anab 09.10.2017
BUGGY AIR AT DESIGN FRONTIERS Superflux 15.09.2017
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BACK TO THE FUTURE: WHAT WE DID IN 2016 Superflux 31.01.2017
REALITY CHECK: PRESENTING AT UNDP SUMMIT Jon 06.12.2016
MITIGATION OF SHOCK JOURNAL Jon 12.07.2016
STUDIO HAPPENINGS Anab 04.07.2016
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HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2015 Anab 30.12.2015
SUPERFLUX MAGAZINE, ISSUE 1. Anab 21.04.2015
THE DRONE AVIARY JOURNAL Anab 09.04.2015
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ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES AND DESIGN: AN INTERVIEW WITH SARA HENDREN Anab 07.11.2014
A QUARTERLY UPDATE FROM THE STUDIO Anab 11.05.2014
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