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Positive Tipping Points: How to Fix the Climate Crisis
We can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
How do we get out of a climate crisis of our own making?
As global change escalates, we are already starting to experience damaging tipping points in the social, ecological and climate systems that we depend upon - and much worse is to come. These shocks tell us we have left it too late for incremental change to save we need to change course fast to avoid the worst, yet we are acting far too slowly. Our supposed leaders appear paralysed by the complexity of the situation or, worse still, determined to maintain the status quo. This is leading to increasing despair, especially among young people.
At the same time, hopeful signs of change are also growing fast. The climate movement, the spread of electric vehicles, and the rise of renewable energy are all examples of change accelerating in the right direction. They have all passed tipping points where their uptake becomes self-propelling, taking the status quo by surprise - and they are spreading worldwide. To get ourselves out of trouble in time, we need more of these positive tipping points towards global sustainability, which eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the destruction of nature, and promote social justice.
This book identifies the positive tipping points that can help us avoid the worst from damaging tipping points. It takes the reader on a journey through understanding how tipping points happen, showing how tipping points have transformed human societies in the past, and facing up to the profound risks that climate tipping points pose to us all now. Then, it offers hope and empowerment in a series of uplifting examples of social and technological changes that started small but are already spreading rapidly to transform our societies to a more sustainable state. It identifies the positive tipping points that are still needed, the forces that are opposing them, and the actions that can trigger them, showing how we can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
How do we get out of a climate crisis of our own making?
As global change escalates, we are already starting to experience damaging tipping points in the social, ecological and climate systems that we depend upon - and much worse is to come. These shocks tell us we have left it too late for incremental change to save we need to change course fast to avoid the worst, yet we are acting far too slowly. Our supposed leaders appear paralysed by the complexity of the situation or, worse still, determined to maintain the status quo. This is leading to increasing despair, especially among young people.
At the same time, hopeful signs of change are also growing fast. The climate movement, the spread of electric vehicles, and the rise of renewable energy are all examples of change accelerating in the right direction. They have all passed tipping points where their uptake becomes self-propelling, taking the status quo by surprise - and they are spreading worldwide. To get ourselves out of trouble in time, we need more of these positive tipping points towards global sustainability, which eliminate greenhouse gas emissions, reverse the destruction of nature, and promote social justice.
This book identifies the positive tipping points that can help us avoid the worst from damaging tipping points. It takes the reader on a journey through understanding how tipping points happen, showing how tipping points have transformed human societies in the past, and facing up to the profound risks that climate tipping points pose to us all now. Then, it offers hope and empowerment in a series of uplifting examples of social and technological changes that started small but are already spreading rapidly to transform our societies to a more sustainable state. It identifies the positive tipping points that are still needed, the forces that are opposing them, and the actions that can trigger them, showing how we can all play a part in triggering positive tipping points that accelerate us out of the climate crisis.
256 pages, Hardcover
Published September 4, 2025
11 people are currently reading
255 people want to read
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October 15, 2025
This book is an essential read for anyone who wants to marshal the facts on climate and ecological tipping points. It is also a message of hope that we do, after all, have agency, “that we can all play a part in triggering (…) positive tipping points” to create rapid societal and technological change.
Part one of the book sets the scene of the urgency of the climate and ecological emergency. He describes examples of changes in environmental and social systems that can build up gradually and then suddenly tip into a point of no return, after which change accelerates rapidly and becomes self-propelling. He uses recent examples such as extreme weather events, The Evergiven container ship that blocked the Suez canal, the 2008 financial crisis, and Covid 19. Lenton, a systems thinker, shows how these seemingly disconnected shocks have an underlying pattern to them.
His central concept of ‘tipping points’ is explained with clear analogy. It is then applied to analyse and explain historical and recent events to show how change can be non-linear and can suddenly take off and become unstoppable. We have heard a lot how this can happen with something like the Greenland icesheet, but less about how such tipping points can also be seen in social and technological change. Lenton argues that we must find and trigger as many of these tipping points as we can to decarbonise our society, and to do so fast. His message of hope is that we have changed rapidly in the past, and he shows us examples to illustrate this.
The second part of the book shows how social and technological change is already underway (and accelerating) to address the climate crisis. Public perception and acceptance of the climate crisis has grown considerably, led by rapid growth in campaigning activity. Development and uptake of technology such as electric vehicles and solar panels is also growing exponentially. In probably the most empowering chapter, Lenton explains clearly why changing our diet to a mainly plant-based one could have a huge impact on reducing deforestation and restoring natural ecosystems, as well as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As he says, “Our dietary choices typically have a greater impact on both the climate and nature than anything else we do. Crucially it is also in our power to change them.”
I found this a very readable book, compelling and surprisingly enjoyable, given the topic. With an impressive range of science disciplines covered, it is well-explained and easy to follow. Lenton is a good storyteller and uses relatable analogies to explain technical concepts. It is well-researched and referenced, with good narrative structure. As a concerned citizen endlessly looking for ways that I can act to address the climate crisis, I found it helpful - both to learn and be able to explain the facts, and to see how my individual lifestyle choices can effect change. The book increases my belief that I do have agency; I am not helpless. If enough of us do this, we can have an impact. I’m not sure whether we can exactly ‘fix’ the climate crisis, but this book leads me to hope that it is possible to reduce its trajectory – by acting and pushing for change until it becomes unstoppable. You and I can absolutely play a part in that.
Part one of the book sets the scene of the urgency of the climate and ecological emergency. He describes examples of changes in environmental and social systems that can build up gradually and then suddenly tip into a point of no return, after which change accelerates rapidly and becomes self-propelling. He uses recent examples such as extreme weather events, The Evergiven container ship that blocked the Suez canal, the 2008 financial crisis, and Covid 19. Lenton, a systems thinker, shows how these seemingly disconnected shocks have an underlying pattern to them.
His central concept of ‘tipping points’ is explained with clear analogy. It is then applied to analyse and explain historical and recent events to show how change can be non-linear and can suddenly take off and become unstoppable. We have heard a lot how this can happen with something like the Greenland icesheet, but less about how such tipping points can also be seen in social and technological change. Lenton argues that we must find and trigger as many of these tipping points as we can to decarbonise our society, and to do so fast. His message of hope is that we have changed rapidly in the past, and he shows us examples to illustrate this.
The second part of the book shows how social and technological change is already underway (and accelerating) to address the climate crisis. Public perception and acceptance of the climate crisis has grown considerably, led by rapid growth in campaigning activity. Development and uptake of technology such as electric vehicles and solar panels is also growing exponentially. In probably the most empowering chapter, Lenton explains clearly why changing our diet to a mainly plant-based one could have a huge impact on reducing deforestation and restoring natural ecosystems, as well as removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. As he says, “Our dietary choices typically have a greater impact on both the climate and nature than anything else we do. Crucially it is also in our power to change them.”
I found this a very readable book, compelling and surprisingly enjoyable, given the topic. With an impressive range of science disciplines covered, it is well-explained and easy to follow. Lenton is a good storyteller and uses relatable analogies to explain technical concepts. It is well-researched and referenced, with good narrative structure. As a concerned citizen endlessly looking for ways that I can act to address the climate crisis, I found it helpful - both to learn and be able to explain the facts, and to see how my individual lifestyle choices can effect change. The book increases my belief that I do have agency; I am not helpless. If enough of us do this, we can have an impact. I’m not sure whether we can exactly ‘fix’ the climate crisis, but this book leads me to hope that it is possible to reduce its trajectory – by acting and pushing for change until it becomes unstoppable. You and I can absolutely play a part in that.
September 8, 2025
Tim Lenton’s ‘Positive Tipping Points’ does well to remind us all that we have agency to create meaningful change- that as cogs in the societal machine, we have the power to enhance and act transformatively, or to disrupt the current system. As he notes, “To get out of the incumbent, unsustainable state we need a fundamentally social tipping point, because it is people and their actions that either maintain the status quo or oppose it.”
Lenton makes the early point that, “We are in a climate and ecological crisis of our own making.” His focus is on finding the lever which will accelerate positive societal change. “We need to find and trigger positive tipping points that accelerate change in our societies and technology towards sustainability and social justice.”
‘Positive Tipping Points’ highlights well known examples of small actions which had large and significant consequences. He uses the example of the ‘Ever Given’ ship which blocked the Suez Canal to emphasise how the actions and decisions of just a few people ‘can sometimes escalate into global consequences.’ He makes the point that the world is far from the ordered, stable, place that we imagine it to be and that small changes can create large- scale self-propelling social change which could create the positive tipping points of actions and behaviours that are required. “We have been brought up to think that the world is an orderly, predictable place, where if we act in a proportionate manner we’ll get things back under control. But today’s world is not behaving like that.”
Lenton correctly clarifies what he means by a ‘tipping point’, arguing that overuse in the media has led to a confusion in the term. Additionally, he highlights the inherent danger in overstating the inevitability of such tipping states.
“There is also quite a bit of popular confusion over what is and is not a tipping point. This matters because if we overstate the existence of bad tipping points, knowing that they are self-propelling and hard to stop or reverse, we may feel disempowered and fatalistic.”
He gives clear and thorough examples of past ‘tipping points’ which moved societies through stable states to unstable alternatives. He explores nomadic lifestyles and how these were replaced with sedentary cultures; how foraging food made way for farming; how the Industrial Revolution in the UK changed the world; how cars replaced horses; and how previous complex societies collapsed owing to a range of external and internal factors impacting them simultaneously. Creating a ‘new world’ through innovative techniques can never be viewed as truly successful before the change has occurred. Lenton outlines that, “There are two faces to tipping points- they are sometimes creators and sometimes destroyers of worlds.” His argument is that once collapse gets underway, reinforcing and amplifying feedbacks can propel it at a much faster pace.
We are on thin ice
The immediacy of the positive tipping point for climate action is well documented in the text. “Now we are at around 1.5℃ of global warming and our list of potential climate tipping points has grown to sixteen.” Lenton explores how these tipping points might increase the abrupt risk of further points being broken irreversibly, owing to the complex interconnected Earth systems. “Our journey around the tipping elements has begun to reveal how tipping one thing affects the likelihood of tipping another. Hopefully this is intuitive. The Earth is a complex interconnected system where if something breaks it has repercussions elsewhere.”
Changing course
However, this is not a ‘doomist’ text- listing tipping point after tipping point. Instead, Lenton argues that disaster can be averted. He argues that by learning from moments of drastic change in the past, we should have learned to spot the warning signs. “To believe we can change fundamentally, and fast, we need to appreciate that we have done so in the past.” As climate tipping points are a “universal negative to avoid”, Lenton points to successful social movements of the past which brought the necessary change. The abolition of slavery and the Suffragette movement are both explored as movements which reached a ‘critical mass’ where change became inevitable and self-propelling. “Social movements, like the suffragettes or the climate protestors, are a particularly important way of tipping change. Many, if not all, the great social changes in the past had social movements behind them.” Attitudes towards change are driven by core groups, labelled by Lenton as “Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards”. Changing the social norm can be done in short timescales when intention and a better vision are part of the messaging. Society has changed its attitude towards smoking in a relatively short timeframe. Solar power, EV cars, vegetarianism and other changes in diet, have also broken through quickly as group dynamics ‘nudge’ others into taking action. The rise in technology in the past 20 years, and the acceptance and reliance on this technological innovation, also indicates how significantly society can change its attitude.
Government policy can play an impactful role when rapid change is required. This was ably demonstrated when the ozone layer was threatened with CFCs. Government and industry worked quickly together to reduce the harm and risk. “We urgently need such a tipping point of international coordination to tackle climate change”
Lenton pulls no punches in addressing this need for government policy, nor the bad actors at play, delaying climate action or promoting untested geoengineering proposals. “Policy is particularly important, because the transformation we need now is a rapid and intentional one.”
‘Revolution is impossible until it is inevitable.’
Lenton closes by quoting Trotsky’s famous line that ‘Revolution is impossible until it is impossible’. He urges that waiting until we have reached the point of an impending climate tipping point before acting would be risky and foolhardy. “Common sense says it would be a very risky strategy to wait until we are near certain about impending catastrophe before we act together.”
The stress on resources of climate migration could be well founded as humans move beyond their ‘climate- niche’ of stable survival. Hundreds of millions of people could be displaced in the coming decades and could become climate migrants, leading to an impact on welcoming countries and unwelcoming countries alike.
“The take home message from all this is that if we carry on knowingly towards 3℃ of global warming many people will have an existential risk to deal with, and in the worst case, we could be heading for a tipping point of societal collapse.”
Acting proactively rather than reactively may make all the difference to creating the necessary, critical mass social change. We can see the very real danger ahead- the alarm is sounding- our course needs to be altered.
“For all these reasons we need to act fast, well in advance of the point of impact, if we are to avoid it.”
Margaret Mead’s words may become prophetic once again,as we each consider what part we want to play in the positive tipping points to come.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
Lenton makes the early point that, “We are in a climate and ecological crisis of our own making.” His focus is on finding the lever which will accelerate positive societal change. “We need to find and trigger positive tipping points that accelerate change in our societies and technology towards sustainability and social justice.”
‘Positive Tipping Points’ highlights well known examples of small actions which had large and significant consequences. He uses the example of the ‘Ever Given’ ship which blocked the Suez Canal to emphasise how the actions and decisions of just a few people ‘can sometimes escalate into global consequences.’ He makes the point that the world is far from the ordered, stable, place that we imagine it to be and that small changes can create large- scale self-propelling social change which could create the positive tipping points of actions and behaviours that are required. “We have been brought up to think that the world is an orderly, predictable place, where if we act in a proportionate manner we’ll get things back under control. But today’s world is not behaving like that.”
Lenton correctly clarifies what he means by a ‘tipping point’, arguing that overuse in the media has led to a confusion in the term. Additionally, he highlights the inherent danger in overstating the inevitability of such tipping states.
“There is also quite a bit of popular confusion over what is and is not a tipping point. This matters because if we overstate the existence of bad tipping points, knowing that they are self-propelling and hard to stop or reverse, we may feel disempowered and fatalistic.”
He gives clear and thorough examples of past ‘tipping points’ which moved societies through stable states to unstable alternatives. He explores nomadic lifestyles and how these were replaced with sedentary cultures; how foraging food made way for farming; how the Industrial Revolution in the UK changed the world; how cars replaced horses; and how previous complex societies collapsed owing to a range of external and internal factors impacting them simultaneously. Creating a ‘new world’ through innovative techniques can never be viewed as truly successful before the change has occurred. Lenton outlines that, “There are two faces to tipping points- they are sometimes creators and sometimes destroyers of worlds.” His argument is that once collapse gets underway, reinforcing and amplifying feedbacks can propel it at a much faster pace.
We are on thin ice
The immediacy of the positive tipping point for climate action is well documented in the text. “Now we are at around 1.5℃ of global warming and our list of potential climate tipping points has grown to sixteen.” Lenton explores how these tipping points might increase the abrupt risk of further points being broken irreversibly, owing to the complex interconnected Earth systems. “Our journey around the tipping elements has begun to reveal how tipping one thing affects the likelihood of tipping another. Hopefully this is intuitive. The Earth is a complex interconnected system where if something breaks it has repercussions elsewhere.”
Changing course
However, this is not a ‘doomist’ text- listing tipping point after tipping point. Instead, Lenton argues that disaster can be averted. He argues that by learning from moments of drastic change in the past, we should have learned to spot the warning signs. “To believe we can change fundamentally, and fast, we need to appreciate that we have done so in the past.” As climate tipping points are a “universal negative to avoid”, Lenton points to successful social movements of the past which brought the necessary change. The abolition of slavery and the Suffragette movement are both explored as movements which reached a ‘critical mass’ where change became inevitable and self-propelling. “Social movements, like the suffragettes or the climate protestors, are a particularly important way of tipping change. Many, if not all, the great social changes in the past had social movements behind them.” Attitudes towards change are driven by core groups, labelled by Lenton as “Innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, laggards”. Changing the social norm can be done in short timescales when intention and a better vision are part of the messaging. Society has changed its attitude towards smoking in a relatively short timeframe. Solar power, EV cars, vegetarianism and other changes in diet, have also broken through quickly as group dynamics ‘nudge’ others into taking action. The rise in technology in the past 20 years, and the acceptance and reliance on this technological innovation, also indicates how significantly society can change its attitude.
Government policy can play an impactful role when rapid change is required. This was ably demonstrated when the ozone layer was threatened with CFCs. Government and industry worked quickly together to reduce the harm and risk. “We urgently need such a tipping point of international coordination to tackle climate change”
Lenton pulls no punches in addressing this need for government policy, nor the bad actors at play, delaying climate action or promoting untested geoengineering proposals. “Policy is particularly important, because the transformation we need now is a rapid and intentional one.”
‘Revolution is impossible until it is inevitable.’
Lenton closes by quoting Trotsky’s famous line that ‘Revolution is impossible until it is impossible’. He urges that waiting until we have reached the point of an impending climate tipping point before acting would be risky and foolhardy. “Common sense says it would be a very risky strategy to wait until we are near certain about impending catastrophe before we act together.”
The stress on resources of climate migration could be well founded as humans move beyond their ‘climate- niche’ of stable survival. Hundreds of millions of people could be displaced in the coming decades and could become climate migrants, leading to an impact on welcoming countries and unwelcoming countries alike.
“The take home message from all this is that if we carry on knowingly towards 3℃ of global warming many people will have an existential risk to deal with, and in the worst case, we could be heading for a tipping point of societal collapse.”
Acting proactively rather than reactively may make all the difference to creating the necessary, critical mass social change. We can see the very real danger ahead- the alarm is sounding- our course needs to be altered.
“For all these reasons we need to act fast, well in advance of the point of impact, if we are to avoid it.”
Margaret Mead’s words may become prophetic once again,as we each consider what part we want to play in the positive tipping points to come.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”
October 6, 2025
In his subtitle, Tim Lenton makes a daring claim: this book is going to tell us how to fix the climate crisis. This is surely very timely when there has never been such scepticism about the need to take action that can damage economies.
Lenton takes it for granted that things are bad, opening with statements like 'We are beginning to realize that we need to change course fast if we are to avoid catastrophe, and that we are not changing fast enough.' It's certainly true that some people realize this, but it's also fair to say that many don't, including notable major world leaders - there's always a danger of the academic 'we' being assumed to be representative of humanity as a whole.
The solution that Lenton proposes (the title is a bit of a give-away) is that we 'find and trigger positive tipping points that accelerate change in our societies and technology towards sustainability and social justice.'
The book proper begins with an exploration of the mess we're in, starting (as has become something of a cliché) with a personal story: in this case of Lenton filming for a TV series about ice-loss in Greenland in 2012. Alongside the message about climate change itself, Lenton illustrates the concept of tipping points with stories including the blocking of the Suez Canal in 2021 with its knock-on effects, and the speedy spread of the COVID virus with its dramatic, high-speed change on global behaviour.
These non-linear impacts are then used to show how the climate protest movement went from small beginnings to have a major impact. We are told of successes, like the dramatic rise of electric vehicles in Norway and the move away from fossil fuels for electricity generation in the UK. From here we move on to an introduction to the nature of systems that have tipping points and of past tipping points in human societies (many anything but positive). We find out more about climate change, and its potential impact on humans in different environments, noting the great inequality where 'those suffering most have contributed least to causing the problem.'
So far, we have been dealing with what the problem is - and many climate change books end here. But Lenton then moves into considering how we can avert disaster. Continuing his use of stories, he starts this with a look at the Titanic disaster, using this as analogy as to why it is so difficult to 'stop the ship of global warming.' No solutions yet - but we are told that we can in principle change fast, and to believe this we need to look at examples from the past.
We are told of tipping point successes from the suffragettes to the motor car. Lenton suggests that climate activists, including Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, have had a positive effect in moving public opinion towards the need to carry out radical change to deal with the climate crisis - but this does feel like wishful thinking as current evidence is anything but supportive of such an approaching tipping point - and much of the population outside a particular bubble found the actions Extinction Rebellion and their spinoffs turned them away from the importance of dealing with climate change. The same goes for enthusiasm for 'new forms of democracy' (primarily citizens' assemblies) which seem unlikely to appeal outside a certain academic mindset.
The book is based in the political and economic world of five to ten years ago rather than the present. For example Lenton comments 'Many worry that the roll out of charging infrastructure [for EVs] cannot keep pace. But globally the deployment of public charging stations is keep up with the exponential growth of EVs.' I'm a fervent enthusiast for EVs, but my personal experience of finding charging stations in the UK (and of suffering pricing above that of petrol) does not support this - and this underlines the biggest problem with Lenton's philosophy. Even if this were true globally (and I don't think it is now), it is what happens locally that most affects our behaviour. It's fine to have high-minded vision, but the globalist viewpoint is in decline. It has to work here and for our country.
In a sense, the subtitle is fulfilled. Lenton does tell us how to fix the climate crisis. But it involves spreading a worldview that isn't present in the majority in many countries: if anything it is made less popular by the actions of Extinction Rebellion and their like. He does warn of the dangers of populism - but is not offering anything that helps those who are attracted to populism because of their lack of trust in an establishment of which Lenton is very much a part. My suspicion is that this is a 'how' that can't practically be implemented. I hope it can, but I doubt it will.
Lenton takes it for granted that things are bad, opening with statements like 'We are beginning to realize that we need to change course fast if we are to avoid catastrophe, and that we are not changing fast enough.' It's certainly true that some people realize this, but it's also fair to say that many don't, including notable major world leaders - there's always a danger of the academic 'we' being assumed to be representative of humanity as a whole.
The solution that Lenton proposes (the title is a bit of a give-away) is that we 'find and trigger positive tipping points that accelerate change in our societies and technology towards sustainability and social justice.'
The book proper begins with an exploration of the mess we're in, starting (as has become something of a cliché) with a personal story: in this case of Lenton filming for a TV series about ice-loss in Greenland in 2012. Alongside the message about climate change itself, Lenton illustrates the concept of tipping points with stories including the blocking of the Suez Canal in 2021 with its knock-on effects, and the speedy spread of the COVID virus with its dramatic, high-speed change on global behaviour.
These non-linear impacts are then used to show how the climate protest movement went from small beginnings to have a major impact. We are told of successes, like the dramatic rise of electric vehicles in Norway and the move away from fossil fuels for electricity generation in the UK. From here we move on to an introduction to the nature of systems that have tipping points and of past tipping points in human societies (many anything but positive). We find out more about climate change, and its potential impact on humans in different environments, noting the great inequality where 'those suffering most have contributed least to causing the problem.'
So far, we have been dealing with what the problem is - and many climate change books end here. But Lenton then moves into considering how we can avert disaster. Continuing his use of stories, he starts this with a look at the Titanic disaster, using this as analogy as to why it is so difficult to 'stop the ship of global warming.' No solutions yet - but we are told that we can in principle change fast, and to believe this we need to look at examples from the past.
We are told of tipping point successes from the suffragettes to the motor car. Lenton suggests that climate activists, including Greta Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion, have had a positive effect in moving public opinion towards the need to carry out radical change to deal with the climate crisis - but this does feel like wishful thinking as current evidence is anything but supportive of such an approaching tipping point - and much of the population outside a particular bubble found the actions Extinction Rebellion and their spinoffs turned them away from the importance of dealing with climate change. The same goes for enthusiasm for 'new forms of democracy' (primarily citizens' assemblies) which seem unlikely to appeal outside a certain academic mindset.
The book is based in the political and economic world of five to ten years ago rather than the present. For example Lenton comments 'Many worry that the roll out of charging infrastructure [for EVs] cannot keep pace. But globally the deployment of public charging stations is keep up with the exponential growth of EVs.' I'm a fervent enthusiast for EVs, but my personal experience of finding charging stations in the UK (and of suffering pricing above that of petrol) does not support this - and this underlines the biggest problem with Lenton's philosophy. Even if this were true globally (and I don't think it is now), it is what happens locally that most affects our behaviour. It's fine to have high-minded vision, but the globalist viewpoint is in decline. It has to work here and for our country.
In a sense, the subtitle is fulfilled. Lenton does tell us how to fix the climate crisis. But it involves spreading a worldview that isn't present in the majority in many countries: if anything it is made less popular by the actions of Extinction Rebellion and their like. He does warn of the dangers of populism - but is not offering anything that helps those who are attracted to populism because of their lack of trust in an establishment of which Lenton is very much a part. My suspicion is that this is a 'how' that can't practically be implemented. I hope it can, but I doubt it will.
October 8, 2025
Excellent book on Climate change. Some parts of the first part were quite difficult, but especially part 2 was excellent.
How to tip the system to a lower carbon incentive society is shown in detail. Difficult task, but surely saying "it is easy - create a price for negative externalities" is no solution but only a part of the solution. Prices on negative externalities and negative prices on positive externalities are surely needed, but it is not enough.
For example, the UK decided to create tools for decarbonizing power production, and it succeeded in ten years. Not that difficult, if you have a plan and support from society/citizens. Markets and prices are an important part of those tools. Guaranteeing support by citizens, like Denmark, in the case of wind power, guaranteed support by the local communities, which were affected by the wind turbine farms. (They got a share of the ownership of the farms.)
ps. The political right has to become more active on this. We have right-wing politicians and the MAGA movement, which are irrationally against nature, against the climate, and against the future of their children. The rational and human, and nature-loving part of the right must that's why to become even more active.
How to tip the system to a lower carbon incentive society is shown in detail. Difficult task, but surely saying "it is easy - create a price for negative externalities" is no solution but only a part of the solution. Prices on negative externalities and negative prices on positive externalities are surely needed, but it is not enough.
For example, the UK decided to create tools for decarbonizing power production, and it succeeded in ten years. Not that difficult, if you have a plan and support from society/citizens. Markets and prices are an important part of those tools. Guaranteeing support by citizens, like Denmark, in the case of wind power, guaranteed support by the local communities, which were affected by the wind turbine farms. (They got a share of the ownership of the farms.)
ps. The political right has to become more active on this. We have right-wing politicians and the MAGA movement, which are irrationally against nature, against the climate, and against the future of their children. The rational and human, and nature-loving part of the right must that's why to become even more active.
February 14, 2026
Lenton is clearly one of the worlds biggest proponents of framing sustainability transformations as positive tipping points - the chapters on technological TPs are data-dense and well-resources, but he stretches the optimism and analogy too far when it comes to sociocultural norms.
A sort-of reasonable book on climate and solutions basics, but would not recommend this: Lenton is a scientist and writes like one. If you want to be truly inspired, read Raworth, Kimmerer, Solnit, Centola or Engler and Engler on social change and our worldviews.
A sort-of reasonable book on climate and solutions basics, but would not recommend this: Lenton is a scientist and writes like one. If you want to be truly inspired, read Raworth, Kimmerer, Solnit, Centola or Engler and Engler on social change and our worldviews.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews