GCF board member, Johan Rockström, wins the Tyler Prize

Johan Rockström wins the 2024 Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement for leading the development of the “Planetary Boundaries Framework”, a scientific guide to help keep the planet in a safe operating space.

Planetary Boundaries: Exploring the Safe Operating Space for Humanity, published in 2009, first started the concept. The article determines the limits in which humanity can safely operate within planetary boundaries.

The boundaries integrate the nine systems that determine the functioning and the state of the planet. They include systems we all rely upon, such as clean water, a stable climate, and vibrant biodiversity. This framework helps shape public response to climate change and sustainable development, including the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

Humanity is “well outside of the safe operating space” on six of the nine Planetary Boundaries, according to the latest update on the Planetary Boundaries, published September 2023 in Science Advances.

The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement is an annual award for environmental science, environmental health, and energy. Known as the “Nobel Prize for Environment”, its recipients are honored at a ceremony. Johan Rockström, director at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), will receive the Tyler Prize medallion, and a sum of USD 250,000.

Johan Rockström is one of the most-cited researchers in the world, and a board member of the Global Challenges Foundation.