Tipping points, tough truths, and the case for hope

This article is written by Emily Forsyth-Davies, Head of ESG at Aurum Research Limited. The views expressed are her own and do not necessarily represent those of Aurum Research Limited.

Like many others balancing professional commitments with environmental awareness, I attended the University of Exeter’s Tipping Points Conference virtually this year. As an actuary in financial services, the cost–benefit analysis in carbon, rather than currency, just didn’t justify attending in person.

What I didn’t expect was how personally this event would resonate. We often talk about tipping points in abstract, academic terms: glacial melt, atmospheric thresholds, ecosystem collapse. But this conference reframed them in a more strategic light. The risks are real and, in many cases, already unfolding. The Amazon, the Atlantic circulation system, Arctic Sea ice, each dangerously close to irreversible thresholds. But equally present was a quieter, more grounded theme: positive tipping points. These are the moments when systems shift toward better outcomes, and the change becomes self-reinforcing.