# Exeter, PIK, Wageningen and Princeton win almost €10 million ERC grant to study societal tipping points

- Published: 2026-11-14 08:13 UTC
- Section: Planet › Climate
- Tags: societal tipping points, positive tipping points, ERC Synergy Grant, Project Groundswell, 1.5°C overshoot, safe operating space, University of Exeter, planetary boundaries
- URL: https://realtech.media/news/rt-2acc90c8d639b0481712c974_exeter_pik_wageningen/

**The Project Groundswell team will study how positive societal tipping points could return Earth to a safe operating space as warming exceeds 1.5°C.**

![Exeter, PIK, Wageningen and Princeton win almost €10 million ERC grant to study societal tipping points](https://realtech.media/media/2026/11/67906833812fc466.jpg)
*Jeremy Harbeck, Wikimedia Commons, Public domain*

A new international research project, Project Groundswell, aims to identify "societal tipping points" that could help preserve a safe climate for humanity, EurekAlert reports. [1] The project has received a European Research Council (ERC) Synergy Grant of almost 10 million euros. [1] It is jointly led by researchers from the University of Exeter, the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK), Wageningen University & Research and Princeton University. [1]

Global warming is set to exceed 1.5°C, and the authors say the extent and duration of "overshoot" above this level must be minimised to avoid existential risks. [1] In their view, this can only be achieved through a rapid transformation of how societies think, organise, produce, consume and move. [1]

## Tipping points and the safe operating space

A tipping point is a threshold where a small change can trigger a significant, often irreversible, transformation. [1] Researchers have identified many Earth system tipping points that will cause catastrophic harm unless humanity takes urgent action. [1] According to the team, "positive tipping points" in societies and economies could offer a route to a safe, just and sustainable future. [1]

The project will diagnose how such societal tipping can occur and whether it could bring Earth back within a "safe operating space". [1] Professor Tim Lenton of Exeter said the grant will allow the team to answer to what extent positive social tipping points can get us safely back within planetary boundaries. [1]

## Methods and research plan

The team will analyse how past societal transformations emerged and unfolded. [1] It will also probe current trends in the energy and food sectors to detect approaching social and technological transformations. [1]

Another line of work covers individual and collective motivation and decision making, and how they shape, and are shaped by, social and technological innovation and environmental change. [1] Using this evidence-based approach, the researchers will model how and when societal transformations could bring humanity back within the safe operating space. [1]

Dr Femke Nijsse of Exeter Climate Policy said the funding makes it possible to explore, with real-world evidence, how positive tipping points can reinforce each other. [1] Professor Johan Rockström, PIK director, noted that research so far has focused mainly on understanding and avoiding negative tipping points. [1] Professor Elke Weber of Princeton said the project will combine expertise across levels of analysis, from individual action to system-level responses. [1]

## Sources

1. [EurekAlert](https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1151499)

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Source: RealTech, realtech.media — https://realtech.media/news/rt-2acc90c8d639b0481712c974_exeter_pik_wageningen/