by T.M. Lenton, et al in Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research…Tipping points pose some of the biggest risks to our planet’s life-support systems and the stability of our societies. In an unprecedented effort by the scientific community, researchers have now published a comprehensive report on Earth system tipping points and their potential impacts and opportunities for societal change. More than 200 scientists from around the world contributed to the ‘Global Tipping Points Report’. The report with more than 500 pages provides an authoritative guide to the state of knowledge on tipping points, explores opportunities for accelerating much needed transformations, and outlines options for a new governance of tipping point risks and opportunities.
Is it too late to keep global warming below 1.5 °C? The challenge in 7 charts
by Jeff Tollefson in Nature…Chances are rapidly disappearing to limit Earth’s temperature rise to the globally agreed mark, but researchers say there are some positive signs of progress.
As water becomes a weapon of war, we must focus on cooperation and peace
by Peter Gleick in The Guardian…Record increase in water-related violence shows how urgently we need to reduce these tensions between countries
Russia and Israel lead global surge in attacks on civilian water supplies
by Nina Lakhani in The Guardian…Water-related violence surged to an all-time high in 2022 – driven in large part by Russia’s war in Ukraine and Israeli attacks against Palestinian water resources in the West Bank.
Donella Meadows recommendations for how to dance with and intervene in systems
Wahl writes……Donella makes the crucially important point that the most transformative and effective leverage points are addressed by acting at the level of paradigm-change, by addressing the culture change that would shift the dominant believes about the system. Even more effective, according to Meadows, is the ability to transcend paradigms and acknowledge the wisdom that diverse, possibly even conflicting perspectives can bring to a situation in full recognition that each paradigm also brings with it, its own limitations and blind spots.
Multisolving: making systems whole, healthy, and sustainable
by Elizabeth R. Sawin, et al, in Stanford Social Innovation Review…Crossing system boundaries to build partnerships and solve shared problems will strengthen communities and build resilience.
A global resilience index: supporting climate adaptation of global infrastructure systems
by Prof Jim Hall of Oxford University….A new Global Resilience Index, developed by researchers at the Environmental Change Institute, is helping policy makers understand climate risks to global infrastructure systems and plan appropriate investments and interventions.
The ‘flickering’ of Earth systems is warning us: act now, or see our already degraded paradise lost
by George Monbiot in The Guardian…Every hour is now an “if only” moment: offering a better chance of avoiding collapse than the hour that follows. Grim as our time on Earth is, future generations will look back on it as a golden age. A golden age of wildlife, of mild weather, stability, prosperity, of opportunities to act. Our living world is a grey shadow of what it once was, but a vibrant paradise in comparison with what it will be. Unless, unless.
Advancing the conversation around building a resilient future
Answer from Nathanial in the interview…..Innovation, knowledge and policy are key interlinked areas for GRP to ensure that we advance and strengthen resilience. Embracing resilience encourages innovation in finding new and flexible solutions that can adapt to changing circumstances. This fosters a culture of experimentation and learning, which is essential for addressing complex challenges effectively. A strong scientifically-backed understanding of resilience, including measuring and testing resilience is also fundamental. This includes ensuring that resilience encompasses more than just “bouncing back” to the status quo, but that it also encompasses adaptive and transformative capacities and allows systems to continue to evolve in spite of shocks and stresses.
2023 Executive Summary
from the Executive Summary UNEHS…Today, we are moving perilously close to the brink of multiple risk tipping points. Human actions are behind this rapid and fundamental change to the planet. We are introducing new risks and amplifying existing ones by indiscriminately extracting our water resources, damaging nature and biodiversity, polluting both Earth and space, and destroying our tools and options to deal with disaster risk.
More in this tag
Jul
06
2023
Global polycrisis: The causal mechanisms of crisis entanglement
by Dr. Michael Lawrence at The Cascade Institute….. In this framework, a global crisis arises when one or more fast-moving trigger events combines with...
Mar
24
2025
After Spaceship Earth
An expansive look at the contemporary artists confronting, challenging, and reimagining R. Buckminster Fuller's techno-utopianism to envision sustainable futures...
Mar
24
2025
Playing with time: Introducing a foresight practice to build hopeful futures through transformative stewardship
by Cat Tully in School of International Futures…I want to help us unstick from this present, apply a practical set of approaches to help our communities navigate...
Mar
24
2025
Future Signals – what we’re watching for in 2025
From Nesta…Our annual series about the trends and developments that are set to shape the coming year
Mar
21
2025
The militia and the mole
by Joshua Kaplan in Propublica…A Freelance Vigilante: A wilderness survival trainer spent years undercover, climbing the ranks of right-wing militias. He didn’t...
Mar
20
2025
The turbulent world of resilience: 2 Interpretations and themes for transdisciplinary dialogue
by Susanne Moser, et al. in Climatic Change…In this paper we have tried to delineate – from a workshop and a literature review – fundamental differences in...
Mar
19
2025
Zero-problem philanthropy
by Christian Seelos in SSIR…Moving away from endless problem-solving and toward creating healthy context.
Mar
18
2025
Octavia Butler on creativity, the power of our obsessions, and how we become who we are
by Maria Popova in The Pocket…“Love quiets fear. And a sweet and powerful positive obsession blunts pain, diverts rage, and engages each of us in the greatest,...
Mar
17
2025
Strategy 2030 mid-term review and forecast
From IFRC Solferino Academy…As we reach the midpoint of Strategy 2030, we are entering a new humanitarian era. A complex mass of emerging trends is changing the...
Mar
17
2025
Looking Forward
by Steven Ascher in his film Looking Forward…“W.H. Auden called the postwar era, ‘The Age of Anxiety.’ It seems we’re in another one now.”
Mar
14
2025
Empowering residents to drive the redevelopment of a trailer park
from Habitat for Humanity Cost of Home report…Rosensweig adds that Southwood has the potential to be a model for sustainable and equitable redevelopment of both...