Tipping Phenomena in the Climate-Society System

Course goals

Content

Motivation
Under an increase in greenhouse gases, components of the climate system can 
cross critical boundaries radically changing their behavior. In the Global Tipping 
Points Report 2025, it is stated that one of these systems, the coral reef system, 
has already passed such a critical boundary, while other systems may be close 
to such boundaries. At the same time, the report also identifies possible tipping 
behavior which could induce a relatively fast transition to a more sustainable 
society. In this course, we will discuss tipping behavior in both the climate 
and the socioeconomic system and their potential interactions, providing a 
solid (also mathematical) background into transition behavior in complex
systems in general. 
 
Overview
The course will be divided into four parts. During the first part, the basic (stochastic) 
dynamical systems theory to understand tipping behavior will be discussed. In the 
second part, focus will be three important climate tipping systems, the Atlantic Ocean 
Circulation, the Amazon Rainforest and the Polar Ice Sheets. Transitions in the 
socio-economic system will form the third part of the course, focussing on the 
transition to a sustainable society. During the last part, we will focus on
the coupled climate-socioeconomic system and discuss cascading tipping 
behavior.