An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points

Sonia Graham; Melanie Wary; Fulvia Calcagni; Mercè Cisneros; Claudia de Luca; Santiago Gorostiza; Ola Stedje Hanserud; Giorgos Kallis; Panagiota Kotsila; Sina Leipold; Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte; Tristan Partridge; Anna Petit-Boix; Anke Schaffartzik; Galia Shokry; Sergio Tirado-Herrero; Jeroen van den Bergh; Patrizia Ziveri

doi:10.1002/pan3.10516

An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points

Sonia Graham^*, Melanie Wary^*, Fulvia Calcagni, Mercè Cisneros, Claudia de Luca, Santiago Gorostiza, Ola Stedje Hanserud, Giorgos Kallis, Panagiota Kotsila, Sina Leipold, Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte, Tristan Partridge, Anna Petit-Boix, Anke Schaffartzik, Galia Shokry, Sergio Tirado-Herrero, Jeroen van den Bergh, Patrizia Ziveri

^*Corresponding author for this work

Spatial Economics

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

To effectively navigate out of the climate crisis, a new interdisciplinary approach is needed to guide and facilitate research that integrates diverse understandings of how transitions evolve in intertwined social–environmental systems. The concept of tipping points, frequently used in the natural sciences and increasingly in the social sciences, can help elucidate processes underlying major social–environmental transitions. We develop the notion of interlinked ‘social–climatic tipping points’ in which desirability and intentionality are key constitutive features alongside stable states, feedbacks, reversibility and abruptness. We demonstrate the new insights that our interdisciplinary framework can provide by analysing the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and associated flooding of the Ahr Valley in Germany as a social–climatic tipping point. This framework can enable more sustainable and equitable futures by prioritising social–climatic tipping points for interdisciplinary research, identifying opportunities for action, and evaluating the nuanced desirability and acceptability of proposed solutions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	1445-1456
Number of pages	12
Journal	People and Nature
Volume	5
Issue number	5
Early online date	27 Jul 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10516
Publication status	Published - Oct 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
We acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the ‘María de Maeztu’ program for Units of Excellence (MDM‐2015‐0552: CEX2019‐000940‐M); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement TRANSFAIR No. 752870; and WEGO‐ITN No. 764908; the Juan de la Cierva—Incorporación No IJC2019‐040934‐I of the Spanish Ministry of Science; the María Zambrano (MZ 2021–2019 and MZ 2022) and Margarita Salas grants funded under the European Union's ‘NextGenerationEU’ program and through the Spanish Ministry of Universities; the ‘Ramón y Cajal’ program supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020‐029750‐I); the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the research group ‘Circulus—Opportunities and challenges of transition to a sustainable circular bio‐economy’ (031B0018); the AGAUR Catalan governmental agency (2018FI_B00635), the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR‐00640, 2021 SGR 00734); the European Research Council (ERC) funded GREENLULUS project under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (678034); the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through Hertha Firnberg project T949 and the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE200100234).

Funding Information:
The motivation for this Perspective came from an interdisciplinary workshop on social–climatic transitions held at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in April 2019. The 26 participants spanned diverse research fields, including ecology, paleoclimatology, biogeosciences, climate modelling, engineering, urban planning, social ecology, industrial ecology, political ecology, environmental policy, economics, environmental studies, geography, oceanography, anthropology, sociology and history. Thank you to César Terrer, Esteve Corbera, Eric Galbraith and Andre Colonese for discussion and edits to earlier drafts of the paper. Thanks to other participants of the workshop, especially the keynote speakers: Vanesa Castán Broto, Eric Pineault and Stefan Rahmstorf. The workshop would not have been a success without the support provided by Pedro Gonzalez Hernandez, Isabel Lopera Martínez and Luca Janković.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

Funding

We acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the ‘María de Maeztu’ program for Units of Excellence (MDM‐2015‐0552: CEX2019‐000940‐M); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement TRANSFAIR No. 752870; and WEGO‐ITN No. 764908; the Juan de la Cierva—Incorporación No IJC2019‐040934‐I of the Spanish Ministry of Science; the María Zambrano (MZ 2021–2019 and MZ 2022) and Margarita Salas grants funded under the European Union's ‘NextGenerationEU’ program and through the Spanish Ministry of Universities; the ‘Ramón y Cajal’ program supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020‐029750‐I); the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the research group ‘Circulus—Opportunities and challenges of transition to a sustainable circular bio‐economy’ (031B0018); the AGAUR Catalan governmental agency (2018FI_B00635), the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR‐00640, 2021 SGR 00734); the European Research Council (ERC) funded GREENLULUS project under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (678034); the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through Hertha Firnberg project T949 and the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE200100234). The motivation for this Perspective came from an interdisciplinary workshop on social–climatic transitions held at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in April 2019. The 26 participants spanned diverse research fields, including ecology, paleoclimatology, biogeosciences, climate modelling, engineering, urban planning, social ecology, industrial ecology, political ecology, environmental policy, economics, environmental studies, geography, oceanography, anthropology, sociology and history. Thank you to César Terrer, Esteve Corbera, Eric Galbraith and Andre Colonese for discussion and edits to earlier drafts of the paper. Thanks to other participants of the workshop, especially the keynote speakers: Vanesa Castán Broto, Eric Pineault and Stefan Rahmstorf. The workshop would not have been a success without the support provided by Pedro Gonzalez Hernandez, Isabel Lopera Martínez and Luca Janković.

Funders	Funder number
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Spanish Ministry of Universities
Margarita Salas
European Commission
Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Juan de la Cierva—Incorporación
European Research Council
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme	678034
Austrian Science Fund	T949
Horizon 2020	752870, 764908
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación	MZ 2021–2019, RYC2020‐029750‐I, MZ 2022
AGAUR Catalan governmental agency	2018FI_B00635
Australian Research Council	DE200100234
Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades	MDM‐2015‐0552
Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung	031B0018
Generalitat de Catalunya	2021 SGR 00734

Keywords

AMOC
climate adaptation
climate impacts
climate mitigation
interventions
transformation
turning points

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10.1002/pan3.10516Licence: CC BY

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Cite this

Graham, S., Wary, M., Calcagni, F., Cisneros, M., de Luca, C., Gorostiza, S., Stedje Hanserud, O., Kallis, G., Kotsila, P., Leipold, S., Malumbres-Olarte, J., Partridge, T., Petit-Boix, A., Schaffartzik, A., Shokry, G., Tirado-Herrero, S., van den Bergh, J., & Ziveri, P. (2023). An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points. People and Nature, 5(5), 1445-1456. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10516

@article{d6b96f9f22724328a69fb3affd8002d9,

title = "An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points",

abstract = "To effectively navigate out of the climate crisis, a new interdisciplinary approach is needed to guide and facilitate research that integrates diverse understandings of how transitions evolve in intertwined social–environmental systems. The concept of tipping points, frequently used in the natural sciences and increasingly in the social sciences, can help elucidate processes underlying major social–environmental transitions. We develop the notion of interlinked {\textquoteleft}social–climatic tipping points{\textquoteright} in which desirability and intentionality are key constitutive features alongside stable states, feedbacks, reversibility and abruptness. We demonstrate the new insights that our interdisciplinary framework can provide by analysing the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and associated flooding of the Ahr Valley in Germany as a social–climatic tipping point. This framework can enable more sustainable and equitable futures by prioritising social–climatic tipping points for interdisciplinary research, identifying opportunities for action, and evaluating the nuanced desirability and acceptability of proposed solutions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.",

keywords = "AMOC, climate adaptation, climate impacts, climate mitigation, interventions, transformation, turning points",

author = "Sonia Graham and Melanie Wary and Fulvia Calcagni and Merc{\`e} Cisneros and \{de Luca\}, Claudia and Santiago Gorostiza and Ola Stedje Hanserud and Giorgos Kallis and Panagiota Kotsila and Sina Leipold and Jagoba Malumbres-Olarte and Tristan Partridge and Anna Petit-Boix and Anke Schaffartzik and Galia Shokry and Sergio Tirado-Herrero and \{van den Bergh\}, Jeroen and Patrizia Ziveri",

note = "Funding Information: We acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the {\textquoteleft}Mar{\'i}a de Maeztu{\textquoteright} program for Units of Excellence (MDM‐2015‐0552: CEX2019‐000940‐M); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sk{\l}odowska‐Curie grant agreement TRANSFAIR No. 752870; and WEGO‐ITN No. 764908; the Juan de la Cierva—Incorporaci{\'o}n No IJC2019‐040934‐I of the Spanish Ministry of Science; the Mar{\'i}a Zambrano (MZ 2021–2019 and MZ 2022) and Margarita Salas grants funded under the European Union's {\textquoteleft}NextGenerationEU{\textquoteright} program and through the Spanish Ministry of Universities; the {\textquoteleft}Ram{\'o}n y Cajal{\textquoteright} program supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020‐029750‐I); the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the research group {\textquoteleft}Circulus—Opportunities and challenges of transition to a sustainable circular bio‐economy{\textquoteright} (031B0018); the AGAUR Catalan governmental agency (2018FI\_B00635), the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR‐00640, 2021 SGR 00734); the European Research Council (ERC) funded GREENLULUS project under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (678034); the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through Hertha Firnberg project T949 and the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE200100234). Funding Information: The motivation for this Perspective came from an interdisciplinary workshop on social–climatic transitions held at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in April 2019. The 26 participants spanned diverse research fields, including ecology, paleoclimatology, biogeosciences, climate modelling, engineering, urban planning, social ecology, industrial ecology, political ecology, environmental policy, economics, environmental studies, geography, oceanography, anthropology, sociology and history. Thank you to C{\'e}sar Terrer, Esteve Corbera, Eric Galbraith and Andre Colonese for discussion and edits to earlier drafts of the paper. Thanks to other participants of the workshop, especially the keynote speakers: Vanesa Cast{\'a}n Broto, Eric Pineault and Stefan Rahmstorf. The workshop would not have been a success without the support provided by Pedro Gonzalez Hernandez, Isabel Lopera Mart{\'i}nez and Luca Jankovi{\'c}. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley \& Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.",

year = "2023",

month = oct,

doi = "10.1002/pan3.10516",

language = "English",

volume = "5",

pages = "1445--1456",

journal = "People and Nature",

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Graham, S, Wary, M, Calcagni, F, Cisneros, M, de Luca, C, Gorostiza, S, Stedje Hanserud, O, Kallis, G, Kotsila, P, Leipold, S, Malumbres-Olarte, J, Partridge, T, Petit-Boix, A, Schaffartzik, A, Shokry, G, Tirado-Herrero, S, van den Bergh, J & Ziveri, P 2023, 'An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points', People and Nature, vol. 5, no. 5, pp. 1445-1456. https://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10516

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AU - Wary, Melanie

AU - Calcagni, Fulvia

AU - Cisneros, Mercè

AU - de Luca, Claudia

AU - Gorostiza, Santiago

AU - Stedje Hanserud, Ola

AU - Kallis, Giorgos

AU - Kotsila, Panagiota

AU - Leipold, Sina

AU - Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba

AU - Partridge, Tristan

AU - Petit-Boix, Anna

AU - Schaffartzik, Anke

AU - Shokry, Galia

AU - Tirado-Herrero, Sergio

AU - van den Bergh, Jeroen

AU - Ziveri, Patrizia

N1 - Funding Information: We acknowledge the financial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, through the ‘María de Maeztu’ program for Units of Excellence (MDM‐2015‐0552: CEX2019‐000940‐M); the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska‐Curie grant agreement TRANSFAIR No. 752870; and WEGO‐ITN No. 764908; the Juan de la Cierva—Incorporación No IJC2019‐040934‐I of the Spanish Ministry of Science; the María Zambrano (MZ 2021–2019 and MZ 2022) and Margarita Salas grants funded under the European Union's ‘NextGenerationEU’ program and through the Spanish Ministry of Universities; the ‘Ramón y Cajal’ program supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (RYC2020‐029750‐I); the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the research group ‘Circulus—Opportunities and challenges of transition to a sustainable circular bio‐economy’ (031B0018); the AGAUR Catalan governmental agency (2018FI_B00635), the Generalitat de Catalunya (2021 SGR‐00640, 2021 SGR 00734); the European Research Council (ERC) funded GREENLULUS project under the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (678034); the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) through Hertha Firnberg project T949 and the Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award (DE200100234). Funding Information: The motivation for this Perspective came from an interdisciplinary workshop on social–climatic transitions held at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology (ICTA) at the Autonomous University of Barcelona (UAB) in April 2019. The 26 participants spanned diverse research fields, including ecology, paleoclimatology, biogeosciences, climate modelling, engineering, urban planning, social ecology, industrial ecology, political ecology, environmental policy, economics, environmental studies, geography, oceanography, anthropology, sociology and history. Thank you to César Terrer, Esteve Corbera, Eric Galbraith and Andre Colonese for discussion and edits to earlier drafts of the paper. Thanks to other participants of the workshop, especially the keynote speakers: Vanesa Castán Broto, Eric Pineault and Stefan Rahmstorf. The workshop would not have been a success without the support provided by Pedro Gonzalez Hernandez, Isabel Lopera Martínez and Luca Janković. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. People and Nature published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Ecological Society.

PY - 2023/10

Y1 - 2023/10

N2 - To effectively navigate out of the climate crisis, a new interdisciplinary approach is needed to guide and facilitate research that integrates diverse understandings of how transitions evolve in intertwined social–environmental systems. The concept of tipping points, frequently used in the natural sciences and increasingly in the social sciences, can help elucidate processes underlying major social–environmental transitions. We develop the notion of interlinked ‘social–climatic tipping points’ in which desirability and intentionality are key constitutive features alongside stable states, feedbacks, reversibility and abruptness. We demonstrate the new insights that our interdisciplinary framework can provide by analysing the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and associated flooding of the Ahr Valley in Germany as a social–climatic tipping point. This framework can enable more sustainable and equitable futures by prioritising social–climatic tipping points for interdisciplinary research, identifying opportunities for action, and evaluating the nuanced desirability and acceptability of proposed solutions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

AB - To effectively navigate out of the climate crisis, a new interdisciplinary approach is needed to guide and facilitate research that integrates diverse understandings of how transitions evolve in intertwined social–environmental systems. The concept of tipping points, frequently used in the natural sciences and increasingly in the social sciences, can help elucidate processes underlying major social–environmental transitions. We develop the notion of interlinked ‘social–climatic tipping points’ in which desirability and intentionality are key constitutive features alongside stable states, feedbacks, reversibility and abruptness. We demonstrate the new insights that our interdisciplinary framework can provide by analysing the slowdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation and associated flooding of the Ahr Valley in Germany as a social–climatic tipping point. This framework can enable more sustainable and equitable futures by prioritising social–climatic tipping points for interdisciplinary research, identifying opportunities for action, and evaluating the nuanced desirability and acceptability of proposed solutions. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

KW - AMOC

KW - climate adaptation

KW - climate impacts

KW - climate mitigation

KW - interventions

KW - transformation

KW - turning points

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An interdisciplinary framework for navigating social–climatic tipping points

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