Warmer Futures and the Edge of Habitability

A new article by Peter Droege, published in Sustainable Earth Reviews (2025), warns that Earth is moving past its peak habitability and highlights the urgent need for systemic climate actions.

A Planet at Risk

Droege argues that politically set targets, such as limiting warming to 1.5°C or 2°C, were never grounded in scientific reality and have already been surpassed. Global temperatures crossed the 1.5°C threshold in 2023 and continue to rise at an accelerating pace. Conventional measures like net zero commitments, he notes, are misleading and insufficient.

Climate Engineering vs. Climate Regeneration

The paper distinguishes between quick-fix “climate engineering” projects and the broader concept of “climate regeneration.” While geoengineering approaches often focus on narrow, risky technological solutions, regeneration emphasizes restoring the biosphere’s natural ability to stabilize climate—through protecting forests, soils, and ocean ecosystems.

Ten Policy Imperatives

Droege outlines ten urgent policy measures for climate stabilization, including:

• Moving from net zero to absolute zero and net-negative emissions.

• Establishing climate defense budgets, redirecting national resources as if preparing for war.

• Developing climate peace diplomacy, prioritizing cooperation over conflict.

• Creating regenerative financing mechanisms that shift global investments toward long-term biosphere protection.

• Ending fossil fuel production and restructuring fossil-based industries.

• Supporting natural carbon removal, biodiversity recovery, and regenerative agriculture.

• Addressing global migration challenges that will intensify as habitability declines.

Broader Implications

The article warns of cascading tipping points—such as polar ice cap collapse, AMOC disruption, and runaway methane emissions—that could push the planet into conditions unseen since the Pliocene or Eocene eras. Droege emphasizes that only transformative, collective action can prevent irreversible ecological collapse.

About the Author

Peter Droege is Director of the Liechtenstein Institute for Strategic Development and a member of Convisero – the community of Trebuchet, a platform of thinkers and practitioners addressing global challenges.

You can access the full article here: Habitability at the brink: Beyond Paris—emergency imperatives for global policy and local action