In ecological economics, natural resources – which may contribute only a small amount to GDP – are viewed as fundamental to the functioning of the economy. They are sometimes pictured as sitting at the base of an inverted pyramid, with the rest of the economy balanced on top of them. In this...

The notion of ‘planetary boundaries’ is rapidly diffusing into a range of policy arenas and has clearly stimulated a discussion on the need to reform international environmental governance. This article summarizes the special section “Global Environmental Governance and Planetary...

This article discusses the concept of planetary boundaries that has been advanced by a group of leading experts around Johan Rockström. I place the concept of planetary boundaries in the larger framework of the emerging research paradigm of earth system governance, welcoming it as a crucial...

Along with concerns over the effectiveness of earth system governance, ways of enhancing its accountability and legitimacy are increasingly coming to the fore in both scholarly debate and political practice. Concerns over accountability and legitimacy pertain to all levels of governance, from...