Human mobility operates within physical and ecological boundaries.
These limits are not political opinions. they are hard constraints imposed by the planet.

Climate change is the clearest signal that humanity is exceeding planetary limits.
Even though the CO₂ we emit represents only a tiny fraction of the atmosphere, it acts like a thermal blanket: trapping infrared radiation, raising global temperatures, and destabilizing weather patterns.
This small change has outsized effects because the climate system is highly sensitive and tightly coupled. Slight imbalances can trigger extreme events such as heatwaves, floods, storms, and droughts.

Ecosystems cannot adapt fast enough to these changes. Species face habitat loss, migration pressures, and mismatched seasonal cycles, leading to declines and extinctions.
These ecological disruptions cascade into human societies, affecting food production, water supply, health, infrastructure, and economies.

In the history of Earth, changes of this magnitude and speed are unprecedented.
The closest analogs like the asteroid impact that ended the age of the dinosaurs or massive volcanic events, caused massive extinctions.
Our current rate of change is faster than almost anything in the planet’s history, leaving ecosystems and human societies with little time to adapt and we dont want to go extinct do we ?

Transport is one of the few sectors where emissions continue to grow, and the largest emitter in Europe after energy.
Private cars alone account for over 10% of Europe’s greenhouse gases.
Focusing on carbon alone, however, misses the broader picture.

Mobility systems affect the planet in many ways.

Beyond greenhouse gases, cars generate non-exhaust pollution from tire and brake wear, a major source of urban particulates.
Noise from traffic degrades ecosystems and human health.
Roads and vehicles cause direct wildlife mortality and fragment habitats, creating long-lasting ecological barriers.

The impact is also spatial.
Roads, parking, and safety buffers consume land, seal soil, alter water flows, and lock cities into sprawl.
Once built, this infrastructure commits societies to decades of resource use and emissions, regardless of future vehicle improvements.

Electrification reduces tailpipe emissions, but it does not eliminate these pressures.
Heavier vehicles increase material demand, non-exhaust pollution, and infrastructure wear.
Efficiency gains are often offset by longer travel distances and larger vehicles.

Material limits matter.
Vehicles require steel, aluminum, copper, and increasingly battery metals whose extraction carries environmental and social costs.
Recycling helps, but it is never complete and cannot sustain unlimited growth.

A finite planet cannot support infinite growth.
Living within limits therefore requires more than cleaner energy.
It demands reducing material intensity, minimizing mass per transported person, and designing vehicles that last, can be repaired, and remain useful over time.

Durability, repairability, and sufficiency are key strategies.

We treat planetary boundaries as design constraints.
This means questioning size, weight, speed, and material choices, not just for efficiency, but for their long-term ecological consequences.

The goal is not to optimize mobility in isolation, but to make it compatible with the limits of the world it depends on, balancing human needs with planetary survival.