If you are wondering, you are in the right place.

The planetary boundaries define the thresholds pPhysics not to exceed in order to continue living on Earth in the conditions that we know. These limits refer to 9 vital parameters concerning climate, water, soil, atmosphere etc. Today, 6 of the 9 limits would be exceeded.

Here are the details of the planet's limits and especially the modalities for acting through investment strategies:

Climate change

Global warming is now reaching levels that go beyond what is safe for the planet's habitability. This overtaking involves climate change which has numerous consequences: rising temperatures, extreme weather events, rising oceans, disappearance of species, etc.

Climate change also impacts other global limits, such as that of the water cycle, which includes rivers and groundwater that are drying up.

CHow to integrate the global limit of climate change into an investment strategy?

‍

It is necessary to reduce the impact of investments on the climate, i.e. to engage companies to reduce their carbon footprint in line with the Paris Agreement, if possible.

You can also invest in “green” investments to contribute to carbon neutrality or the energy transition.

‍

Land use change

CThis limit refers to the conversion of forests or grasslands into crop areas or urban areas.

deforestation and, more generally, land use change reduce the ability of forests and soils to act as carbon sinks that are essential for climate regulation. It also impacts biodiversity, that is to say animal species, their habitat, their reproductive capacity.

CHow to integrate the global limit of land use change into an investment strategy?

For example, you can exclude or engage companies that cause deforestation.

You can strongly encourage companies in the food and cosmetics industries to implement measures to prevent deforestation or to implement certifications that the raw materials used have not been deforested.

More and more tools and platforms are mapping deforestation areas and classifying companies according to their deforestation policies.

You can also allocate financial flows to reforestation.

The water cycle.

Human activities have completely disrupted part of the water cycle, i.e. the path of rainwater to lakes, groundwater, oceans and seas.

As some rivers and seas such as the Aral Sea dry up,

Some groundwater in agricultural production areas in China, India, Mexico or France is declining structurally. This therefore has a direct impact on the planet's habitability.

CHow to integrate the global limit of the water cycle into the investment strategy?

One of the central elements is to verify that businesses that consume a lot of water do not draw water from areas of water stress, and to verify that they are implementing real measures to reduce their consumption;

You can start by basing yourself on the sectors that consume the most water. Investments directed at businesses that save water contribute to reducing pressures on the water cycle.

Ocean acidification:

The oceans absorb CO2 from the air by dissolving it. The absorption of high amounts of CO2 leads to ocean acidification, which leads to the loss of marine species.

If the ocean is too acidic, species cannot make their shells properly, they disappear, which also leads to the disruption of the marine food chain.

How to integrate the global limit of ocean acidification into the investment strategy?

This limit is not obvious...

A large number of actions aimed at reducing climate change make it possible to reduce ocean acidification in turn.

Then, you can also invest in actions to restore and protect marine biodiversity.

Pollution and “new entities”

“New entities” are polluting molecules or materials such as plastics, biocides, insecticides, heavy metals, solvents... that degrade the environment in the broadest sense.

The environment in a broad sense is the atmosphere, soils, fresh water, oceans etc.

Today, all environments are polluted and the level of pollution reaches levels that expose us to significant risks.

How to integrate the global limit of new chemical pollution into the investment strategy?

By identifying the most polluting companies, and by engaging them to reduce the use of pollutants, and to change their production methods.

You can target plastic for example by engaging companies to reduce their packaging, to recycle the plastics used, to use alternatives to plastic or to promote reuse.

You can also target pesticides by engaging companies to reduce them or to exclude companies that use or reject dangerous products.

The erosion of biodiversity, in the sense of species or “integrity of the biosphere”.

The rapid and massive decline in animal and plant species over the last 50 years characterizes what is called the sixth mass extinction.

Over a million species are threatened with extinction and the rate at which species are dying out has had no equivalent in the last 10 million years.

This is obviously linked to global warming, which is degrading the living conditions of species, to the acidification of the oceans, which is killing shellfish, to the disturbance of the freshwater cycle, which is drying out the soils and degrading the living conditions of species, to the change in the use of the land, which is forcing species to migrate, and of course to pollution, which is simply killing species.

The decline in biodiversity threatens the health of soils, water, and human well-being.

CHow to integrate this global limit of biodiversity erosion into an investment strategy?

Actions aimed at combating global warming, less impacting the freshwater cycle, soil conversion and pollution have positive impacts on biodiversity.

In terms of investment, you can also invest in projects or funds that regenerate nature and protect this biodiversity.

If you do infrastructure, you can also put in place practices to protect biodiversity, especially if you finance the construction of dams or roads.

The nitrogen and phosphorus cycle

Nitrogen and phosphorus are two important nutrients for plants.

Farmers treat their crops with phosphorus and nitrogen (i.e. fertilizer).

Agriculture rejects more and more and these flows of nitrogen and phosphorus are not all absorbed by crops; the surplus is found in soils and rivers, which causes, for example, the proliferation of algae, which destroy ecosystems.

Today, we have reached more than twice the limit values on this global limit. This has an impact on soil fertility, the water cycle and global warming.

CHow to integrate this global limit on disturbances in nitrogen and phosphorus cycles into an investment strategy?

By encouraging agricultural practices that respect the environment, which limit the use of chemical fertilizers.

Some agricultural practices use slow-release fertilizers or precision farming methods.

Second, some companies are developing technologies to recover and recycle nitrogen and phosphorus from waste.

The “atmospheric aerosol concentration”, i.e. the quantity of liquid or solid particles suspended in the air.

These particles come from the combustion of fossil fuels, transport and industrial emissions.

We don't know how to define a critical threshold on this global limit, so we don't know if it's exceeded. What we do know is that air pollution causes numerous deaths every year.

CHow to integrate this global limit on the atmospheric concentration of aerosols into an investment strategy?

Well, excluding certain types of heavy industries, coal and certain agricultural activities

Investments in clean technologies, aerosol emission control technologies, or companies that produce particulate filters are also a way to reduce the concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere.

The depletion of stratospheric ozone

The ozone layer protects the earth from the sun's rays; this ozone layer was very disturbed by the emission of CFC gases, used in refrigerants in the 90s.

And the good news is that we have succeeded in stopping the degradation of the ozone layer.

These gases have been banned and the situation has generally improved.

Today, cThis limit for the depletion of stratospheric ozone is therefore not exceeded.

It is therefore possible to stop the deterioration of certain limits!

As you have noticed, the planetary boundaries are interconnected. The degradation of one element affects the others. For this reason, using the concept of planetary boundaries makes a lot of sense to structure your biodiversity strategy. This is also why a good biodiversity strategy integrates the climate strategy.

A good practice is to put in place A strategy that can be called “environmental” or that can be called a “nature strategy” that includes both climate, soil, water, pollution, deforestation, species, etc.

‍

‍