A event held at Bookhaus on Wednesday 3rd September. The event starts at 18:00.
We can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
How do we get out of a climate crisis of our own making?
As global change escalates, we are already starting to experience damaging tipping points in the social, ecological and climate systems that we depend upon - and much worse is to come. These shocks tell us we have left it too late for incremental change to save us: we need to change course fast to avoid the worst, yet we are acting far too slowly. Our supposed leaders appear paralysed by the complexity of the situation or, worse still, determined to maintain the status quo. This is leading to increasing despair, especially among young people.
At the same time, hopeful signs of change are also growing fast. The climate movement, the spread of electric vehicles, and the rise of renewable energy are all examples of change accelerating in the right direction. They have all passed tipping points where their uptake becomes self-propelling, taking the status quo by surprise - and they are spreading worldwide. To get ourselves out of trouble in time, we need more of these positive tipping points towards global sustainability, which eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the destruction of nature, and promote social justice.
This book identifies the positive tipping points that can help us avoid the worst from damaging tipping points. It takes the reader on a journey through understanding how tipping points happen, showing how tipping points have transformed human societies in the past, and facing up to the profound risks that climate tipping points pose to us all now. Then, it offers hope and empowerment in a series of uplifting examples of social and technological changes that started small but are already spreading rapidly to transform our societies to a more sustainable state. It identifies the positive tipping points that are still needed, the forces that are opposing them, and the actions that can trigger them, showing how we can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
Tim Lenton will be here to discuss all this with us at bookhaus. Tickets cost £6 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £2 off the book. Presented by bookhaus.
Tim Lenton is Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, where he founded the Global Systems Institute. His research focuses on understanding how life has transformed the Earth system over the past 4 billion years, and how humans are transforming it now. He uses computer models to simulate the climate and biogeochemical cycles. Tim is renowned for his work in identifying climate tipping points, which informed the setting of the 'well below 2°C' climate target. He is passionate about the opportunities for positive tipping points in human activities to accelerate action towards global sustainability.
"This is a tour de force: a magnificent exploration of what could be the most important issues of all. I beg you to read it. " - George Monbiot, author, journalist, environmental activist
"Tipping points are the essence of what is dangerous in climate change, and of what is hopeful and possible in economic change. Tim Lenton realised their importance long before most people, and this is the book to read if you want to understand them better." - Simon Sharpe, author of Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change
"Planetary tipping points threaten. Technological and social tipping points hold the promise. Time to focus! " - Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Convention
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
How do we get out of a climate crisis of our own making?
As global change escalates, we are already starting to experience damaging tipping points in the social, ecological and climate systems that we depend upon - and much worse is to come. These shocks tell us we have left it too late for incremental change to save us: we need to change course fast to avoid the worst, yet we are acting far too slowly. Our supposed leaders appear paralysed by the complexity of the situation or, worse still, determined to maintain the status quo. This is leading to increasing despair, especially among young people.
At the same time, hopeful signs of change are also growing fast. The climate movement, the spread of electric vehicles, and the rise of renewable energy are all examples of change accelerating in the right direction. They have all passed tipping points where their uptake becomes self-propelling, taking the status quo by surprise - and they are spreading worldwide. To get ourselves out of trouble in time, we need more of these positive tipping points towards global sustainability, which eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the destruction of nature, and promote social justice.
This book identifies the positive tipping points that can help us avoid the worst from damaging tipping points. It takes the reader on a journey through understanding how tipping points happen, showing how tipping points have transformed human societies in the past, and facing up to the profound risks that climate tipping points pose to us all now. Then, it offers hope and empowerment in a series of uplifting examples of social and technological changes that started small but are already spreading rapidly to transform our societies to a more sustainable state. It identifies the positive tipping points that are still needed, the forces that are opposing them, and the actions that can trigger them, showing how we can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
Tim Lenton will be here to discuss all this with us at bookhaus. Tickets cost £6 and include a glass of wine or a soft drink and £2 off the book. Presented by bookhaus.
Tim Lenton is Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, where he founded the Global Systems Institute. His research focuses on understanding how life has transformed the Earth system over the past 4 billion years, and how humans are transforming it now. He uses computer models to simulate the climate and biogeochemical cycles. Tim is renowned for his work in identifying climate tipping points, which informed the setting of the 'well below 2°C' climate target. He is passionate about the opportunities for positive tipping points in human activities to accelerate action towards global sustainability.
"This is a tour de force: a magnificent exploration of what could be the most important issues of all. I beg you to read it. " - George Monbiot, author, journalist, environmental activist
"Tipping points are the essence of what is dangerous in climate change, and of what is hopeful and possible in economic change. Tim Lenton realised their importance long before most people, and this is the book to read if you want to understand them better." - Simon Sharpe, author of Five Times Faster: Rethinking the Science, Economics, and Diplomacy of Climate Change
"Planetary tipping points threaten. Technological and social tipping points hold the promise. Time to focus! " - Christiana Figueres, Former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Convention
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
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