Tipping Points are Irreversible

Overview

Whilst walking in the High Peak, Derbyshire, after being snowed in for over a week, I became mesmerised by the intricate patterns formed by layers of snow and the rivulets of melting ice on the roadside and was inspired to make this film. These small wintry scenes somehow conjured wider issues pertaining to global warming and the concept of tipping points that I had been reading about in Jason Hickel's book, "Less is More". His mention of a report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which sets out the stark truths about the irreversibility of climate tipping points, came to mind. Climate tipping points are conditions beyond which changes in a part of the climate system become self-perpetuating. These changes may lead to abrupt, irreversible, and dangerous impacts with serious implications for humanity. Even the Paris Agreement goal of limiting warming to well below 2°C and preferably 1.5°C is not safe. Currently the world is heading toward 2 to 3°C of global warming.