Tokyo TIPMIP General Assembly and Kyoto CMIP workshop

The General Assembly of the Tipping Points Modelling Intercomparison Project (TIPMIP), led by MPI-GEA director Ricarda Winkelmann, was held at Tokyo University and co-organized by our research partners in Tokyo and the TIPMIP team. Not only was it the next in the continental rotation (Asia after Europe and North America in 2023 and 2024), but notably it was the occasion for many groups to present the first results obtained with Earth System Models following the TIPMIP simulation protocol. We were happy to not only see first in-depth studies of individual model results, but also early multi-model analyses.

Key topics that were discussed included the assessment of tipping dynamics in the atmosphere, ocean, cryosphere, permafrost and biosphere, as well as the interactions between potential tipping elements and the impacts on both policy-relevant and long-term commitment time scales. Breakout groups allowed in-depth exchange on very practical topics, such as the formalization of the protocol for the standalone models (e.g., land and ice-sheet models), using outputs from the Earth System Models. Plenary discussions were used to outline the research priorities within the community and to prepare for the next important deadlines of the project, in particular in view of the next IPCC assessment cycle.

Many participants also attended the CMIP Community Workshop 2026 in Kyoto – the key gathering of the global climate modelling community to discuss the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). The topic of tipping points has been defined by the research community as a fundamental science question in the upcoming CMIP cycle.