Johan Rockstrom wins Tyler Prize for environmental achievement

March 4, 2024

The 2024 Tyler Prize for environmental achievement will be awarded to Johan Rockstrom for his groundbreaking contributions and pioneering work to the development of the Planetary Boundaries framework, the science for defining the safe operating space for humanity on Earth.
- The prestigious Tyler Prize is often described as Nobel Prize for environment.
- Established in 1973, the Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement recognises global leaders in environment and sustainability.
Rockstrom is director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK) and co-chair of the Earth Commission.
The Planetary Boundaries framework provides boundaries for world development and a basis for human justice.
The Planetary Boundaries is an international collaboration across multiple Earth system science disciplines.
The theory establishes defined boundaries for nine Earth systems, emphasising the critical importance of their stability and resilience in preserving life as we understand it.
The framework, published in 2009, defines these systems as:
- Climate change; rate of biodiversity loss (terrestrial and marine); interference with the nitrogen and phosphorus cycles; stratospheric ozone depletion; ocean acidification; global freshwater use; change in land use; chemical pollution; and atmospheric aerosol loading.