Global warming is expected to breach the 1.5°C.
About 160 scientists from 87 institutions in 23 countries, say they are working with Brazil’s COP30 Presidency, to ensure that tipping points are on the agenda of the summit.
This as environmental catastrophes are triggered, by an increasingly warming climate, such as melting ice sheets, Amazon rainforest dieback and the collapse of vital ocean currents.
As a result, findings published in the Global Tipping Points Report, suggest we are on the brink of even more tipping points, with devastating risks for people and nature.
Laura Pereira, Professor of Sustainability Transformations and Futures at the Global Change Institute at Wits University, said “the findings of this Report require a strong reckoning with our current social and economic systems that have led to this moment of potentially imminent cascading crises across our planet and societies, whilst offering some of the transformative solutions that we need to undertake in order to enable a more just and sustainable future for all.”
Pereira, also argues that we cannot address the climate crisis by perpetuating the same systems of injustice and oppression that caused it in the first place.
“We need to look to deeper, more equitable solutions, that will allow a more equitable and sustainable future for people and the planet.”
She also argues that some lower hanging fruits, could come from supporting societal transformation and triggering ‘positive tipping points’ such as the self-propelling rollout of green technologies.
This is because there has been a radical global acceleration in some areas, including the uptake of solar power and electric vehicles, since the reporting of tipping points.
Dr Mike Barrett, Chief Scientific Advisor at WWF-UK and co-author of the Report, agreed, “the findings of this report are incredibly alarming. That warm-water coral reefs are passing their thermal tipping point is a tragedy for nature and the people that rely on them for food and income. This grim situation must be a wake-up call that unless we act decisively now, we will also lose the Amazon rainforest, the ice sheets and vital ocean currents. In that scenario we would be looking at a truly catastrophic outcome for all humanity.”
Researchers are hoping Brazil’s examples could inspire the world, in producing green steel, green hydrogen, and green ammonia – to kickstart crucial technologies worldwide.
Positive tipping points can rapidly restore nature and biodiversity.
Picture: Freepik