Bjerknessenterets mål er å forstå klima
til nytte for samfunnet.

The Greenland ice sheet is a dynamic body, making it harder to foresee how it will change with global warming.  Illustration photo from the western coast of Greenland

: Lars Henrik Smedsrud

6 key recommendations from the Global Tipping Points Report 2023

As the Global Tipping Points Report of 2023 was released at COP28 in Dubai, key recommendations were presented by Professor Tim Lenton.

Body

Av Andreas Graven, NORCE

The report says current global governance is inadequate for the scale of the challenge and makes six key recommendations to change course fast, including coordinated action to trigger positive tipping points.

Download the report Global Tipping Points

A tipping point occurs when a small change sparks an often rapid and irreversible transformation, and the effects can be positive or negative.

These are the recommendations from the report:

  • Phase out fossil fuel and land use emissions now
  • Strengthen adaption and loss-and-damage governance
  • Include tipping points in NDCs and the Global Stocktake
  • Coordinate policy efforts to trigger positive tipping points
  • Convene a global summit on tipping points
  • Deepen knowledge of tipping points and its translation into action

Researchers Petra Langebroek, Norman Steinert and Heiko Goelzer are among the NORCE researchers making contributions to this report on climate tipping points - produced by an international team of more than 200 researchers, and coordinated by the University of Exeter.

The expertise of the NORCE researchers (also affiliated with Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research) allowed significant contributions to assessing and understanding the cryosphere's tipping elements. And, and to the broader narrative of how these tipping elements interconnect from a global perspective and influence human societies

Understanding and addressing climate tipping points are paramount in the fight against climate change. The potential consequences, ranging from the collapse of ecosystems to societal disruptions, underscore the urgency of proactive measures to mitigate global warming and its cascading effects, says climate researcher Norman Stentert at NORCE.

However, amid the challenges posed by tipping points, there lies an opportunity for transformative and positive change:

This report illustrates that the acknowledgement of both the risks and opportunities associated with climate tipping points is essential for informed decision-making and effective climate governance. Effectively addressing these climate and societal tipping points provides a chance to implement sustainable practices, innovate in environmental management, and create positive feedback loops that can accelerate efforts to mitigate climate change and promote global resilience, he adds.

Link to the press conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 06 Dec. 2023.