Tipping point

1. Irreversible changes.

A threshold that leads to irreversible change in a system, when it is exceeded.

It may be possible to anticipate some negative tipping points by observing a loss of resilience in the system, as the tipping point is approached.

Example - Tipping points increase tail risks

"With the possibility of tipping points being triggered, such as the melting of ice caps or biosphere collapses, leading to irreversible change in climate systems, the tail risks of catastrophic economic impacts would become even more pronounced towards the end of the century or later."

Swiss Re Institute - The economics of climate change: no action not an option - April 2021

2. Accelerated change.

More broadly, any threshold beyond which a rate of change increases substantially.

Exceeding tipping points of this kind may not necessarily lead to irreversible changes.

See also

• Biosphere
• Climate change
• Complex problem
• Fat tail
• Non-linear
• Systemic risk
• Tail risk
• Threshold