The socio-ecological and sustainability transitions literature describes transitions as often nonlinear, characterised by tipping point behaviour with periods of relative stability interspersed with periods of more rapid change as thresholds are crossed .Actors seeking transformation may take incremental steps that aim to induce such tipping point behaviour . For instance, full accounting of climate risk in insurance and financial lending decisions could similarly act as such social tipping point interventions for adaptation . Transformations need not, however, be equitable or smooth. Historical examples suggest the potential for rigidity traps, in which suppression of innovation and a high degree of connectivity in a system delay an eventual transformation, which, when it eventually occurs, unfolds as exceptionally harsh .
IPCC
Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability
IPCC Report