3.1.6 Final remarks

ESTPs present a distinct set of challenges that should be addressed with policy and governance measures. The time is now for state and non-state governance actors across multiple scales to engage with this topic and elevate it on the international political agenda. Actors need to understand how tipping points affect their interests to develop agency, form coalitions, and actively engage in the agenda-setting process. A range of existing principles of global governance and international law should shape discussions and decisions, including the need for anticipatory approaches, precaution in the face of uncertainty, and the need for intergenerational, intra-generational and international justice. 

Given the nature and scope of ESTPs, governance efforts must be coordinated across multiple spatial and temporal scales, managing cross-scale dynamics and potential tipping cascades in coupled human-Earth systems. It is useful to distinguish three phases of tipping processes (pre-tipping, re-organisation and stabilisation), and to shift the focus of governance efforts corresponding to these phases. There is significant scope for incorporating governance of ESTPs into existing institutions, especially the UNFCCC, but novel actors, approaches and institutions will likely be needed to cover the full range of emerging challenges, especially at the scale of tipping systems.