Dr Steve Smith

About me:

I am a Research Fellow at the Global Systems Institute (GSI) and Green Futures Solutions (GFS) at the University of Exeter. a Visiting Research Fellow at the Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity (CUSP), University of Surrey, and a Fellow of the Royal Society for Arts (FRSA). I co-lead research on positive social tipping points (accelerating sustainability transitions) at GSI/GFS. I'm also working on a project to create a Resilience Sensing System to help decision-makers understand, mitigate and govern systemic risks in the polycrisis, including cascading tipping points, and how to build cultural resilience.  I was a lead author of the Global Tipping Points Reports 2023 and 2025, and am involved in organising the Global Tipping Points Conferences in Exeter (2022, 2025), Kuala Lumpur (2026), and Potsdam (2027). I sit on the Advisory Board of the European Commission's Working Group on System Dynamics for System Innovation, and served as an expert reviewer to the UN IPCC’s Working Group III Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WGIII). I have authored many peer-reviewed papers, book chapters, policy-papers, popular articles, podcasts and blogs and regularly present at public, corporate, and academic conferences and other events.

Broad research specialisms:

Positive social tipping points, accelerating sustainability transitions, system dynamics, global tipping point risks, monitoring and governance.

Qualifications:

Ph.D. Environment and Sustainability, University of Surrey. Thesis: towards an understanding of advocacy coalitions for rapid transition to net zero carbon in the United Kingdom. https://openresearch.surrey.ac.uk/esploro/outputs/doctoral/99705866502346

M.Sc. Environmental Technology, Imperial College, London.

B.Sc. (Hons) Geography, University of London

B.Sc. (Hons) Psychology, The Open University.