Earth on course for catastrophic tipping points, scientists warn
- Humanity faces an unprecedented risk from tipping points that could unleash a domino effect of irreversible catastrophes
- Comprehensive report comes as global leaders and negotiators gather at the Cop28 climate conference in Dubai
Earth is on course for a series of catastrophic tipping points that would cause misery for billions of people unless fossil fuels are ditched urgently, a group of more than 200 researchers has warned.
Tipping points refer to natural systems becoming increasingly stressed to the point that they irreversibly change, often with disastrous consequences.
Researchers likened the process to a person gradually leaning back on a chair until they lose balance and fall.
Examples of tipping points include the melting of polar and mountain glaciers where the atmosphere and oceans have warmed so much that melting cannot be stopped.
Global warming, through fossil fuel use, deforestation and agricultural emissions, is the primary cause of these approaching catastrophes, the researchers said.