The dangers of a collapse of the main Atlantic Ocean circulation, known as Amoc, have been “greatly underestimated” and would have devastating and irreversible impacts, according to an open letter released at the weekend by 44 experts from 15 countries. One of the signatories, Stefan Rahmstorf, an oceanographer and climatologist who heads the Earth system analysis department at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, explains here why he has recently upgraded his risk assessment of an Amoc breakdown as a result of global heating – and what that means for Britain, Europe and the wider world.

  • seaQueue@lemmy.world
    link
    fedilink
    English
    arrow-up
    62
    ·
    2 months ago

    The tipping point is going to come 5-10y before the mainstream op-eds that shrilly decry “Why did no one warn us it would be this bad!?” while simultaneously blaming leftist voters, consumers and immigrants for not taking it upon themselves to magic up a solution.

    • nogooduser@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      31
      ·
      2 months ago

      At this point climate scientists are like the boy who cried wolf except there’s a huge fucking wolf that everyone can see but nobody wants to admit to in case they are asked to pay to find a solution.

      • seaQueue@lemmy.world
        link
        fedilink
        English
        arrow-up
        14
        ·
        2 months ago

        I’ve been telling this to people for two decades: climate denialism exists to provide a “get out of liability free” card for the folks who’d otherwise be stuck paying climate reparations

        • nogooduser@lemmy.world
          link
          fedilink
          English
          arrow-up
          7
          ·
          2 months ago

          Yes.

          Unfortunately, those solutions aren’t acceptable because we have to think about the shareholders and the politicians who like the lobbying money.

    • irotsoma@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      English
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      2 months ago

      May, they’ll say it’s the lasers, just like the hurricanes. They’ll pretend it was intentional to create a bigger threat from “the others” that require them to all give up their rights in order to fight.