For decades, the planetary perspective remained marginal to politics. Environmental problems were treated as national challenges; sustainability as a concern for future generations. But in the past few years, a deeper shift has occurred. Earth system science, the reports by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), legal rulings, and civil movements have begun to operationalize planetary knowledge.
That knowledge, critically, is mediated through advances in computational capabilities. Only through advanced digital technologies and complex modelling has it become possible to conceptualize Earth as an interdependent system of geospheres, biospheres, technospheres, and societies1,2. This scientific perspective on Earth as a highly complex but holistic concept of the planetary, which has been considered a second Copernican Revolution3 in Earth system science, now informs climate diplomacy, governance, and policy.
The Planetary Boundaries concept4,5, disciplines like Planetary Health or political ideas of ecological justice like planetary citizenship6 have emerged as further indications of this planetary thinking, reinforcing our understanding of the Earth as a complex, interconnected system7,8 where the limits to human activities such as resource use and pollution are critical to ensuring the long-term health of both humanity and the biosphere.