Uneven attention to climate tipping points

Climate tipping points have moved from theoretical concern to a practical challenge for climate-risk assessment and governance. Yet whether scientific attention is aligned with risk-relevant characteristics of climate tipping elements (CTEs) has not been systematically assessed. Across 20,736 CTE-specific records spanning 2000–2025 and addressing 14 tipping elements, attention was concentrated on the Greenland Ice Sheet and Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation, while Boreal Permafrost (abrupt thaw) and the North Atlantic Subpolar Gyre received comparatively limited attention despite their relatively low estimated warming thresholds. Explicit engagement with risk-relevant tipping dynamics, including abrupt transitions, hysteresis, or irreversibility, was also limited. These patterns may influence which tipping risks can be most readily assessed, prioritized, and governed.