It’s Time. Be a Positive Tipping Point!

The annual Climate Week meeting took place at the end of September in New York City. Hosted by the Climate Group, it’s where business, political, and civic leaders (and, often, climate activists protesting outside) gather to discuss how they're addressing the climate crisis affecting us all. Many of us gloss over this event in the news, feeling like our voices don’t matter. But these are the folks who make decisions that have real impact on our lives. This year’s theme is "It's Time" — though we might argue the clock has been ticking for quite a while, it’s encouraging to see the urgency finally being acknowledged. But time for what?  

As they stress, “We’re in the age of urgency. Investment in clean energy and net zero technologies is higher than ever, but 2024 started out warmer than ever recorded, following a year that already broke through the 1.5-degree C mark...Yet we’re still not going fast enough, and together we need to break down barriers that are holding us back.” 

A sense of urgency undoubtedly pulsed through the discussions, but one positive voice stood out in several sessions: Dr. Timothy Lenton.  Dr. Lenton talked about positive tipping points in his “Leading with hope – assessing the role of positive “tipping points” in action” session, part of  Flagship session one: It’s Time for a new era of climate leadership and ambition. 

Climate Week emphasises the science behind policy and business decisions, so let's get some background about tipping points first. Don’t worry, we'll come back to banking in a moment.   

Climate tipping points 

First, let’s highlight how long Timothy Lenton has been thinking about tipping points. In 2008, he identified specific components of the Earth’s system as “tipping elements” - parts of the climate system that could undergo relatively small changes, triggering significant future shifts. You’ve likely heard about the importance of polar ice, the Amazon Rainforest, monsoons, and others. To be clear, these are defined as anthropogenic forcing actions—which means they're caused by humans. These tipping points have ranges of uncertainty, so we don’t necessarily know the exact temperature or condition that we need to reach to kick off the change, but it’s about 1.5°C above pre-industrial temperatures when some of these elements begin to tip.  

No need to worry, right? Surely that’s a long way off? Except that it’s not. In June 2024, we achieved the 12th consecutive month above 1.5°C. Things are heating up, and not just on your summer holiday. 

Tipping trajectory 

These tipping points represent the delicate balances we contemplate when considering the scale and impact of human behaviours, like continuing to invest in, support, and consume fossil fuels. In 2022, researchers identified a larger list of climate tipping points and evaluated them under current and future global temperatures. They concluded that the likelihood of crossing multiple tipping points is approximately ~1.5°C, stating, “Our results underscore that stringent emission reductions in the current decade are critical for planetary stability.”  

It’s why the Paris Agreement aims to keep the global temperature increase between 1.5°C and “well below” 2°C. Don't forget that we’re already seeing global temperature teetering around 1.5° month after month. Are we doing enough to avoid tipping too far? 

Positive tipping points 

That’s a lot to take in, but remember Timothy Lenton, who kicked off this talk about tipping points? You might expect that he’d be the least optimistic about our current situation. However, he has chosen to focus on identifying solutions and establishing a “plausible ground for hope” to see if we can accelerate the change that we need. He clarifies that his optimism is conditional and depends on at least a fraction of us committing to bringing forth the changes needed to balance these tipping points. 

Unlike climate tipping points, which negatively affect the Earth climate system, positive tipping points can be small changes that amplify other positive and more significant impacts.  

As they grow, positive tipping points can reach critical mass, where even one person adopting a new technology can spark widespread change. Dr. Lenton noted that it typically takes just 10-20% of us to act to tip the balance and influence everyone else. Other changes like government mandates and pressure from businesses matter significantly, but consumers play a critical role in this balance. You can watch Dr. Lenton in a TEDX Talk talking about positive tipping points and emphasising how quickly we can effect change in this way. 

Dirty banks are tipping us the wrong direction 

The banking industry funds global initiatives, and continued investment in fossil fuels drives us closer to a world where the critical 1.5°C threshold becomes the norm.  

As we shared previously, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports that not enough funding is going towards activities to mitigate climate change. Meanwhile, the world’s biggest banks continue to provide billions of dollars in financing to an industry that is knowingly disrupting Earth’s climate. U.S. banks, in particular, have shown little progress in transitioning away from fossil fuels (Sustainable Finance Forum, Bloomberg at Climate Week, 2024).  

That’s why we at Bank.Green are committed to helping you understand how your bank uses your money for its investments. 

Be a positive tipping point 

So, how can you, just one person, make a difference? Think back to Tim Lenton and his conditional optimism. That’s also the kind of change we hope to help you make by switching to a green bank.  

Imagine if you were part of 10-20% who tipped your friends and family to switch or your bank to adopt sustainable practices. What if we all became the 10-20% who tipped the balance toward green banking?  

Check how green your bank is today. Get tips on switching from the worst banks, or how to pressure an okay bank, including easy things banks can do to go greener. It's Time. If banks aren’t committed to protecting our climate, we must be. 

 Join others in being a positive tipping point for green banking!