The Planetary Emergency Plan

Published 2019 – First published in 2019, the Planetary Emergency Plan provides a set of key policy levers to address the cross-cutting challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss and human health and wellbeing. The Plan makes the case that we are in the midst of a Planetary Emergency, caused by mutually reinforcing crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pandemics. It outlines a holistic vision of transformation and regeneration; a roadmap for governments and other stakeholders to to shift our societies and economies to bring back balance between people, planet and prosperity. Only then can we truly emerge from emergency. The Plan is a novel contribution to the emergency debate, recognising the inextricable interconnectedness of the three challenges referred to above and providing an alternative approach to conventional siloed, sectoral policy action. It combines a focus on protecting and restoring our Global Commons with implementing a series of economic and social transformations to guarantee the long-term health and well-being of people and planet.

The first edition of the Planetary Emergency Plan was launched at WWF’s Leaders for Nature and People event in New York in September 2019, on the sidelines of the UN Climate Action Summit. The Plan has since been infused into international discussions on climate, biodiversity, sustainable development and global risks, providing The Club of Rome with unprecedented entry-points at the highest levels of decision-making. It forms the foundation of a global Planetary Emergency Partnership and has inspired global campaigns and policy efforts.

In the first year since the publication of the Plan, the world has changed significantly. COVID-19 has exposed our vulnerabilities and has reinforced the case for emergency action. The Club of Rome and PIK initiated a revision process for the Plan, in order to ensure that the Planetary Emergency Plan 2.0 accurately reflects the convergence of three urgent crises (climate, biodiversity and health) and guides the work of the Planetary Emergency Partnership post-COVID. The Plan 2.0 was presented during the Earth Overshoot Day on 20 August 2020.

Click here to download the first edition of the Planetary Emergency Plan. The second edition, Planetary Emergency Plan 2.0, is available for download here.

Other Publications

Ocean Food Production: Limits and Strategies

Ocean Food Production: Limits and Strategies

10 March 2023 - “Ocean Food Production: Limits and Strategies” is a recent report published by the Club of Rome, where the authors dive straight into the issue of food production in a saturated planet, damaged by the severe impacts of climate change and ecological...

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