Harmful tipping points in the natural world pose some of the gravest threats faced by humanity. Their triggering will severely damage our planet’s life-support systems and threaten the stability of our societies.
In the Summary Report:
• Narrative summary
• Global tipping points infographic
• Key messages
• Key Recommendations
Executive summary
• Section 1
• Section 2
• Section 3
• Section 4
This report is for all those concerned with tackling escalating Earth system change and mobilising transformative social change to alter that trajectory, achieve sustainability and promote social justice.
In this section:
• Foreword
• Introduction
• Key Concepts
• Approach
• References
Considers Earth system tipping points. These are reviewed and assessed across the three major domains of the cryosphere, biosphere and circulation of the oceans and atmosphere. We then consider the interactions and potential cascades of Earth system tipping points, followed by an assessment of early warning signals for Earth system tipping points.
Considers tipping point impacts. First we look at the human impacts of Earth system tipping points, then the potential couplings to negative tipping points in human systems. Next we assess the potential for cascading and compounding systemic risk, before considering the potential for early warning of impact tipping points.
Considers how to govern Earth system tipping points and their associated risks. We look at governance of mitigation, prevention and stabilisation then we focus on governance of impacts, including adaptation, vulnerability and loss and damage. Finally, we assess the need for knowledge generation at the science-policy interface.
Focuses on positive tipping points in technology, the economy and society. It provides a framework for understanding and acting on positive tipping points. We highlight illustrative case studies across energy, food and transport and mobility systems, with a focus on demand-side solutions (which have previously received limited attention).
Sirkku Juhola, Juan Rocha, Jana Sillmann, Ashleigh Basel, Sara M. Constantino, Alessandro C.W. Craparo, Graeme S. Cumming, Jonathan F. Donges, Tatiana Filatova, Alexandra Malmström, Vidur Mithal, Jürgen Scheffran, Heidi Tuhkanen, Tabitha Watson
This chapter advances the state-of-the-art understanding of tipping cascades across scales and systems between Earth system and social tipping points. We consider a tipping cascade to occur when extremes or passing of a tipping point in one system triggers or increases the likelihood of reaching a tipping point in another. Here, this means that crossing an Earth system tipping point or experiencing an extreme volatility in the natural system can lead to cascading impacts that trigger social tipping points, and vice versa.
Our analysis of the literature shows that most is known about the tipping cascades in the large-scale Earth System, while hardly any research analyses tipping cascades within socio-economic systems. We further illustrate the complexity of identifying tipping cascades with five case studies. These examples show the challenges in establishing the state of systems involved, identifying and modelling dynamics over time and space, as well as capturing the context dependency of interactions, especially in the social system.
Further research steps include development of conceptual understanding of causal chains and feedbacks, as well as systematic accumulation of the empirical evidence base over temporal and across spatial scales. Research on governance of tipping cascades is in its infancy, with little insight into how the risks of tipping cascades can be identified and managed.