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Professor Tim Lenton is the Chair in Climate Change and Earth System Science at the University of Exeter, serving as a Professor in the Earth System Science research group within the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences. He was the founding Director of the Global Systems Institute. Lenton earned a First-Class Honours BA degree in Natural Sciences from the University of Cambridge between 1991 and 1994, followed by a PhD from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of East Anglia. His research specializations centre on climate change, Earth system science, and the identification and analysis of tipping points in the Earth's climate system. He contributes to undergraduate and postgraduate teaching, including the module GEOM143 'Global systems thinking'.
Lenton's work has had a profound impact on climate science, evidenced by nearly 98,000 citations across his publications on Google Scholar. Key contributions include 'A safe operating space for humanity' (Nature, 2009; over 29,000 citations), which defined planetary boundaries; 'Tipping elements in the Earth's climate system' (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008; over 5,000 citations); 'Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene' (PNAS, 2018); 'Climate tipping points—too risky to bet against' (Nature, 2019); 'Anticipating critical transitions' (Science, 2012); 'Exceeding 1.5°C global warming could trigger multiple climate tipping points' (Science, 2022); and 'Safe and just Earth system boundaries' (Nature, 2023). He orchestrated the Global Tipping Points Report, emphasizing both risks and positive tipping points for nature regeneration, and has been appointed as one of three University of Exeter authors for the IPCC Seventh Assessment Report. Lenton has issued urgent calls to world leaders on climate action and hosted international conferences on tipping points. His major awards include the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for services to understanding climate tipping points and an Honorary Fellowship from the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries presented in November 2025. He has been ranked among the world's most influential climate researchers.
Explore University of Exeter's groundbreaking research on climate tipping points, urging a warming peak below 2°C. Insights from Global Tipping Points Report 2025 and new paper on overshoot risks.
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