On 13 October 2025, the Global Tipping Points report was released, painting a stark picture of our planet’s future.
As global warming approaches 1.5°C, Earth’s climate and ecosystems are already beginning to cross dangerous thresholds – irreversible shifts in Earth systems that could dramatically alter life as we know it. The report explores in depth several critical Earth systems nearing or crossing tipping points, including Atlantic Ocean circulation, the Amazon rainforest, mountain glaciers and coral reefs.
Authored by 60 experts from 87 institutions across 23 countries, the report highlights the urgent need for transformative global governance. Among the contributors to the report’s section on Governance are several members of the UEF Centre for Climate, Energy and Environmental Law, CCEEL: Associate Professor Yulia Yamineva (author), Professor Niko Soininen (author) and Professor Annalisa Savaresi (reviewer).
The report emphasises that tipping points demand a fundamental shift in the quality, speed and scale of global governance. To prevent these tipping points, we must minimise temperature overshoot: every tenth of a degree and every year above 1.5°C matters.
Current adaptation frameworks are not equipped to handle tipping point impacts. They must be urgently revised to protect people, ecosystems and fundamental human rights. The report stresses that no single institution can govern tipping points alone, and leadership must be distributed across governments, UN bodies, scientific communities and civil society.
Effective governance is identified as the linchpin for managing tipping point risks. Existing global governance systems are often slow, fragmented and ill-prepared for abrupt, non-linear changes. The report calls for governance that is anticipatory, adaptive, and capable of addressing systemic risks.
Read and download the full report here: https://global-tipping-points.org/
