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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/sep/23/create-positive-tipping-points-climate-mandates-governments-urged>
"In the terminology of the climate and ecological crises the phrase “tipping
point” is loaded with dreadful implications.
It evokes a climate breakdown supercharged by the mass escape of methane locked
in Siberian permafrost, or the great currents of the oceans smothered by
freshwater melting from the Greenland ice sheet, or the Amazon turning from
great rainforest to parched savannah after the felling of one too many trees.
But it could come to mean something very different.
Policymakers could tip the world into a series of “positive tipping points”,
accelerating the switch from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, by simply
introducing mandates requiring key sectors to make the change, a report claims.
The researchers say such “regulatory mandates with specific timeframes” could
stipulate that certain industries make a rising share of sales of clean
technologies or phase out the most polluting fuels.
Once reached, these tipping points could trigger benevolent cascades in related
sectors, with each accelerating the others down the path of a low-carbon
transition, while simultaneously slashing prices for consumers.
It is an idea with urgency behind it. Experts say global CO2 emissions must be
halved by 2030 if the world is to have any hope of limiting the global
temperature rise to 1.5C, beyond which devastating impacts are expected.
Meanwhile emissions are still rising.
Prof Tim Lenton from the Global Systems Institute (GSI) at the University of
Exeter, which is behind the research, said: “With the world off course to meet
the Paris agreement climate goals, triggering positive tipping points is now
the only credible way to limit global warming well below 2C (3.7F) above
preindustrial levels.
“We need a rapid transformation in our economies and society that dramatically
cuts prices and carbon emissions. Focusing on positive tipping points benefits
consumers, taxpayers, businesses and people around the world facing the worst
impacts of climate change.”"
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
