Panel discussion: Tipping Points to Fix the Climate Crisis

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.

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.

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.

Gaia Vince is a science writer, broadcaster and Anthropocene researcher exploring the interplay between human systems and the planetary environment. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at the Anthropocene Institute at UCL and a Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. Her first book, Adventures In The Anthropocene won the Royal Society Science Book of the Year Prize. Her latest book, Nomad Century: How To Survive The Climate Upheaval, explores global migration and planetary restoration in a radical call to arms.