A 2026 Planetary Health Check by the Potsdam Institute, with input from more than 60 scientists, finds that seven of nine planetary boundaries are already breached and at their highest transgression levels to date, signaling rising risk of large-scale and potentially irreversible changes.

Ocean acidification is the most recently breached boundary, while stratospheric ozone depletion and atmospheric aerosol loading remain within safe limits and show some improvement.

Officials warn that pressure is rising across all boundaries, shrinking margins for error and increasing the likelihood of persistent, potentially irreversible Earth-system changes.

Nature-based solutions like forests, mangroves, green spaces, and agroforestry can reduce heat and bolster resilience, but must be designed to meet African needs and avoid land/resource competition or rights violations.

Even if temperatures eventually decline, losses from extreme heat, ecosystem degradation, and displacement could be lasting, underscoring the need for both mitigation and robust adaptation.

The article frames the findings as a call to urgent action to protect lives and livelihoods and to pursue shared future prosperity.

Adaptation must progress in tandem with emissions reductions, focusing on warning systems, health and water security, resilient infrastructure, and protection for outdoor workers, with finance and technology from wealthier nations and international funders.

PAST stresses that outcomes are not predetermined; avoiding warming and protecting ecosystems can significantly reduce future losses, and readers are urged to support Africa’s origin sciences and climate education.

Experts advocate integrated, cross-cutting actions with multiple co-benefits, including phasing out coal, oil, and gas; protecting forests, wetlands, and oceans; reducing fertilizer and pesticide use; improving freshwater management; and moving toward a circular economy.

The report outlines four interconnected messages: overshoot is likely but not fixed, immediate and sustained cuts to all greenhouse gases are essential, net-zero CO2 and active CO2 removal are both needed, and adaptation must advance with mitigation.

Natural carbon sinks—oceans, forests, soils—are under stress from heat, drought, and fires, weakening their ability to absorb CO2 and potentially turning regions into carbon sources.

Deep-sea disturbances from trawling and potential mining threaten carbon release and long-term marine ecosystem health, underscoring the need for protective measures.