Solutions

To return to the safe operating space – where the planet’s resilience, stability, and life-support systems are not at risk – we need to see the big picture: how the planetary boundaries interact and how to measure whether solutions are working. There is no single fix for all boundaries; but multiple groups are working on evidence based solutions. We have collected some evidence-based solutions in this section and while not every solution is applicable to every situation, consider these as a menu that works in many different contexts.

Civil Society

While the large changes that could bring us back inside the safe operating zone are thought to come from policy and business, it is still individuals in society that drive them. There are many ways for someone to move to a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle, and everyone can choose their own way of doing so. Here are some solutions that may work for you and your lifestyle:
The range of choices for solutions is wide, from swapping to renewable energy to reducing food waste https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20241231-seven-proven-ways-to-help-the-planet or checking out the planetary health diet (See:https://eatforum.org/eat-lancet/the-planetary-health-diet/ and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIc42oIU0Ik) there are hundreds of ways we can make a difference. 

Some often overlooked solutions are which politicians you support, where your money is invested, supporting community group organisations that work on solutions and if what you buy is truly sustainable or even necessary.

The Climate solutions for real life guide was created by climate scientist Dr. Kimberly Nicholas and the team at Project Drawdown https://jointheshift.earth/
While the Project Drawdown solutions explorer allows you to select the best sustainability solutions that matches your way of life https://drawdown.org/explorer


Policy makers

Are you a policy-maker looking for the best solutions or success stories you can replicate?

Governments have a decisive role in steering economies back within Earth’s safe limits by setting clear, science‑aligned policies. Here are just a few of the policies, treaties and frameworks that are on offer:

Project Drawdown’s Drawdown Explorer: identifies and characterizes the most effective climate solutions that can address climate change on a meaningful scale today. https://drawdown.org/explorer

Conservation Agriculture: This review finds that using: no soil disturbance, permanent soil cover, and diversified crop rotations can help bring us back within the planetary boundaries https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/global-sustainability/article/conservation-agriculture-helping-to-return-to-within-planetary-boundaries/3641F08ABCEF6438590242B968C8FAD1

Climate policy explorer: A policy dashboard to easily find the most effective policy from a menu of evidence based solutions https://climate-policy-explorer.shinyapps.io/climate-policies-dashboard/home/ Scientific (PIK Potsdam) led review of climate policies with significant impacts: 1500 climate policies that have been implemented over the past 25 years and identified the 63 most successful ones https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl6547

The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services. (IPBES): is an independent intergovernmental body established by multiple countries to strengthen the science-policy interface for biodiversity and ecosystem services for the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, long-term human well-being and sustainable development. https://www.ipbes.net/

UNEP: Global Environment Outlook: “Transformation to a Sustainable Environment” shows that achieving environmental goals simultaneously while also improving human well-being requires unprecedented action, combining a range of transformative solutions across the systems https://wedocs.unep.org/rest/api/core/bitstreams/651283eb-02f3-4b6c-ac85-3f4a8485d0aa/content

What Works Climate Solutions Network (WWCS-Network): connects researchers, policymakers, research funders, and other users of evidence committed to tackling the climate crisis using high-quality evidence. https://whatworksclimate.solutions/

Nature Climate Change solutions: Regularly published reports, written by journalists, to highlight initiatives, policies and efforts on climate change that are working on different scales around the world https://www.nature.com/nclimate/articles?type=solutions-in-practice https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/ae3dfa/meta 

Climate policies that achieved major emission reductions: Global evidence from two decades An evaluation of 1500 climate policies that have been implemented over the past 25 years and identified the 63 most successful ones: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adl6547 

OECD report: The effects of climate policies on emissions Evidence from a comprehensive and systematic review of the ex-post empirical literature https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/the-effects-of-climate-policies-on-emissions_ec1f7f0d-en.html 


Successful treaties and frameworks: 
The Montreal Protocol : Proof that policy change is a powerful tool in reversing negative shifts in our Planetary Boundaries. In 1987, a global agreement known as the Montreal Protocol was reached which led to the phasing out of ozone depleting substances such as CFCs and HCFCs. This resulted in a reduction of the holes in the ozone layer. The Ozone Boundary's status has improved and is now back within the safe operating space. https://ozone.unep.org/treaties/montreal-protocol

Air pollution convention: In the 1960s, scientists found the causes of “acid rain,” which was damaging forests, reducing fish populations in lakes, and threatening ecosystems across the Northern Hemisphere. They discovered that air pollutants, often emitted thousands of kilometers away, were the primary cause. 32 countries in the pan-European region decided to work together to reduce air pollution. In 1979, they signed the UNECE Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution, creating the first international treaty to deal with air pollution on a broad regional scale. https://unece.org/environmental-policy/air/convention-and-its-achievements

Business

Businesses play a pivotal role in operating within planetary boundaries, where economic success must match up with the boundaries of Earth’s natural systems. By integrating science‑based targets and regenerative practices, companies can reduce risk, innovate, and build long‑term resilience. Here are some possible solutions and activities that may match your business:

Project Drawdown’s Drawdown Explorer
The explorer Identifies and characterizes the most effective climate solutions that can address climate change on a meaningful scale today. https://drawdown.org/explorer

Hurd App.
The HURD App is designed to help employers and employees educate and motivate positive change for a sustainable, climate friendly business, bringing success stories, ideas and plans to help make your business more planet friendly. https://app.hurd.world/learn/


10 Emerging Technology Solutions for Planetary Health from the WEF https://reports.weforum.org/docs/WEF_10_Emerging_Technology_Solutions_for_Planetary_Health_2025.pdf 

The Planetary Boundaries Science lab will be developing planetary boundary wide solutions in the near future with an aim to have localised impact assessment so that stakeholders can truly get a measure of which action is having positive impacts.

Data from Lan et al., 2024 and Lan & Keeling, 2024. • This figure shows the annual global mean of atmospheric CO2 concentration from 1979-2023, and the marginally different dataset of CO2 concentration as measured.