Waterloo, Canada — Johan Rockström, the leading scientist behind the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework, will share the latest research about the sustainability of our planet at a public lecture on Thursday, March 26.
In his upcoming CIGI lecture “Big World, Small Planet: Abundance within Planetary Boundaries,” Rockström, Professor in Global Sustainability at Stockholm University, and the Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, contends the resource and resilience depleting global economy has brought Earth to its breaking point.
Rockström makes the case that we have passed the ability for the environment to sustain the collective behaviors and natural resource depletion connected to unsustainable economic growth.
Drawing on research for his newly released book Big World, Small Planet, and updates to the Planetary Boundaries framework, a set of nine planetary boundaries within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for generations to come, Rockström calls for a shift in development priorities, focusing on economic growth and innovation without crossing the remaining boundaries and transforming the world economy back into a safe operating space on Earth. In Big World, Small Planet, he states, "Abundance within planetary boundaries requires a deep mind-shift. Not growth without limits. Not limits to growth, but growth within limits."
Rockström’s CIGI Signature Lecture and live webcast will take place from 7-9 p.m. on Thursday, March 26, 2015.
Members of the public can RSVP by visiting: https://www.cigionline.org/events/big-world-small-planet-abundance-within-planetary-boundaries. A live webcast is available through registration at the same link. Members of the media wishing to attend should RSVP in advance with CIGI Public Affairs Coordinator Erin Baxter, at [email protected] or 519-885-2444 ext. 7265.
Event: CIGI Signature Lecture – “Big World, Small Planet: Abundance within Planetary Boundaries” featuring Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre.
Date: Thursday, March 26, 2015.
Time: 7:00-9:00 p.m.
Location: The CIGI Campus, 67 Erb Street West, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Professor Johan Rockström, Executive Director of the Stockholm Resilience Centre, is an expert in natural resource management and global sustainability. He is a professor in Environmental Science at Stockholm University. Rockström is a leading scientist within the science of planetary boundaries and has over 15 years of experience researching agriculture, water resources and ecosystem services. He has authored a number of books on global environmental change and is the co-author of Big World, Small Planet (written with Mattias Klum, Max Ström Publishing, 2015.)
The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) is an independent, non-partisan think tank on international governance. Led by experienced practitioners and distinguished academics, CIGI supports research, forms networks, advances policy debate and generates ideas for multilateral governance improvements. Conducting an active agenda of research, events and publications, CIGI’s interdisciplinary work includes collaboration with policy, business and academic communities around the world. CIGI was founded in 2001 by Jim Balsillie, then co-CEO of Research In Motion (BlackBerry), and collaborates with and gratefully acknowledges support from a number of strategic partners, in particular the Government of Canada and the Government of Ontario. For more information, please visit www.cigionline.org.
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