EGUsphere EGUsphere EGUsphere EGUsphere Copernicus Publications Göttingen, Germany 10.5194/egusphere-2023-1454 Risks, Ethics and Justice in the governance of positive tipping points Pereira Laura M. 1 2 Smith Steven R. https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5199-2906 3 4 Gifford Lauren https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8130-4684 5 Newell Peter https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5371-7668 6 Smith Ben 7 Villasante Sebastian 8 Achieng Therezah 3 Castro Azucena https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1914-7251 2 9 Constantino Sara M. 10 Ghadiali Ashish 3 Vogel Coleen 1 Zimm Caroline 11 Global Change Institute, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa Stockholm Resilience Centre, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden Global Systems Institute, University of Exeter, UK CUSP, University of Surrey, UK University of Arizona, USA University of Sussex, UK Department of English, University of Exeter, UK Department of Applied Economics, University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain Department of Iberian and Latin American Cultures, Stanford University, Stanford, USA Northeastern University, USA International Institute of Applied Systems Analysis, Vienna, Austria 11 07 2023 2023 1 27 Copyright: © 2023 Laura M. Pereira et al. 2023 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this licence, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This article is available from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1454/ The full text article is available as a PDF file from https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2023/egusphere-2023-1454/egusphere-2023-1454.pdf

<p>Biophysical tipping points pose existential threats to current and future generations, both human and non-human, with those currently underserved being the most vulnerable. Social tipping points, as deliberate interventions into systems with the expectation of non-linear impacts and widespread change, have the potential to address some of these challenges. However, the imperative to act cannot increase risks nor perpetuate unjust or inequitable outcomes through the creation of sacrifice zones. In this paper we argue that considerations of what needs to change, who is being asked to change and where the change or its impacts will be felt and by whom, are fundamental questions that require a level of reflexivity and systemic understanding in decision-making. All actors have a role to play in ensuring that justice, equity and ethics are incorporated in each and every intervention. Enabling social tipping points towards radical transformations could benefit from more diverse perspectives to open up the solution space, with a particular emphasis on the inclusion of marginalised voices. We conclude that taking a cautious step back to explore all options, not just those that seem to offer a quick fix could offer a more substantial route into thinking through tipping points and create a more equitable as well as sustainable future.</p>