In a world of growing environmental risks and ecological scarcities, ensuring a safe Anthropocene for humankind is essential. This introductory chapter outlines five key principles of an "economics" for a fragile planet: ending the underpricing of nature; fostering collective action; accepting absolute limits; attaining sustainability; and promoting inclusivity. Each of these five principles is briefly outlined in this introductory chapter, which are the building blocks for new thinking on economics and policies for an increasingly fragile world. The aim of this book is to explain what this “economics for a fragile planet” might look like. This chapter ends with a brief overview of how each subsequent chapter tackles this challenge.

The need to curb human activities threatening critical Earth system processes, resources and sinks is an important starting point for thinking how best to manage our planet in an efficient, sustainable and inclusive manner. Chapter 3 explains how this can form the basis for an “economics for a fragile planet.” This perspective began with Kenneth Boulding in the 1960s, who argued that the Earth is ultimately finite, and thus, transition to a “spaceship economy” that respects such limits is unavoidable. The implications are that the exploitation of Earth’s sources of natural resources and sinks for pollution is not limitless, and that it is essential to end the underpricing of nature that currently ignores the rising costs associated with ecological scarcity and environmental degradation. This requires in turn rethinking the markets, institutions and governance needed for a green and inclusive economic transformation. The overall objective should be to manage an economy’s overall stock of physical, human and natural capital to sustain per capita human welfare while limiting global environmental risks.