Social tipping dynamics and climate change mitigation

Abstract

In climate change research, the concept of tipping points has gained momentum. A system tips when it is in a critical state and a small perturbation can suffice to push it into a qualitatively different mode of operation due to strongly self-amplifying (mathematically positive) feedbacks (Schellnhuber, 2009). Recently, the concept was re-introduced in the social sciences – but this time many publications employ the tipping idea to conceptualize the fast societal change, or social tipping, that is required to effectively mitigate climate change (e.g. Farmer et al. 2019; Kopp et al., 2016; Milkoreit et al., 2018; Otto, Donges et al., 2020; Winkelmann et al., 2020). This panel departs from the assumption that to study the drivers and hurdles of effective climate change mitigation, social tipping, namely the fundamental and accelerated change, where societies go from one technology or social practice to another in a short period of time, involving different spheres and strong agency, may indeed be a useful concept. However, while recent research has quite extensively discussed social tipping conceptually, it has rarely been used empirically. Hence, this panel strives to bring together researchers from different backgrounds who use the concept as analytical framework for case studies, empirical analyses or experiments on social tipping relevant to keep us within the planetary boundaries.

Title	Details
Concern and anticipation of sea-level rise increase potential for social tipping interventions	View Paper Details
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Governance Resilience: Key properties of systemic adaptability in climate policy networks	View Paper Details
Social Tipping Dynamics in a German Coal-Phase Out Region	View Paper Details