Wicked Problems - Climate Tech Conversations Tipping Points. They're not all bad. w/Steve Smith of Exeter's Global Systems Institute
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Aug 11, 2025 Stephen Smith from Exeter's Global Systems Institute shares his insights on the urgency of climate action following the Global Tipping Points Conference. He highlights both negative and positive climate tipping points, illustrating their implications for policy makers. The discussion emphasizes the need for transformative strategies and storytelling to foster climate advocacy. Smith also reveals how renewable energy advancements can accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, showcasing hopeful pathways amidst the pressing challenges.
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Negative Versus Positive Tipping Points
- Climate tipping points include dangerous Earth system shifts like ice-sheet melt, Amazon dieback, and AMOC shutdown.
- Positive tipping points are self-reinforcing changes we want to trigger to accelerate a renewable transition.
Integrate Tipping Risks Into Policy Now
- Take immediate, unprecedented action to keep fossil fuels in the ground, decarbonize economies, and restore nature.
- Integrate tipping-point risk into NDCs, the global stocktake, and international governance now.
Tuvalu Lottery Shows Policy Costs
- The Tuvalu resettlement lottery illustrated the human cost when places become uninhabitable and policy admits loss of viability.
- Policymakers avoid declaring points of no return because it triggers responsibility and hard decisions.
