An ensuing comment piece<\/a> by columnist and environmental activist George Monbiot also caused a stir. He argued that politicians, billionaires and fossil-fuel companies were deliberately downplaying the risks because they do not fit into their economic models or short-term profits. \u201cOne of the symptoms of the pathology known as \u2018billionaire brain\u2019 is the inability to see beyond one\u2019s own short-term gain. They would loot the planet for a few more rocks on a needless mountain of wealth. And we can see that happening,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n If the AMOC stops, Europe will experience ice-age like winters<\/strong><\/p>\n The AMOC works like a gigantic ocean conveyor belt. It transports heat from the tropics to the North Atlantic and helps maintain the relatively mild climate on which agriculture, water supply and the functioning of states depend. Without it, temperatures, rainfall and weather in Europe and elsewhere in the world would look completely different.<\/p>\n Scientists have been warning for years that the system is weakening.<\/p>\n What its collapse would mean:<\/strong><\/p>\n Why the AMOC is weakening:<\/strong> Mainly because the climate crisis is changing the properties of the oceans. The Greenland ice sheet is melting, sending more fresh water into the North Atlantic. This water is less salty, and therefore less dense, than the surrounding ocean water. Yet it is precisely the dense, cold, salty water in the North Atlantic that sinks into the depths and drives the entire system of ocean currents. When the ocean is diluted with warmer fresh water, it sinks less readily and the AMOC slows down.<\/p>\n When a collapse would occur:<\/strong> The complete breakdown of the AMOC itself may not happen until the end of this century or later. But the moment when the entire collapse starts in a way that can no longer be halted, even by a drastic reduction in emissions, could come much earlier. This moment is known as a tipping point.<\/p>\n According to the latest study, this tipping point could occur sooner than scientists previously assumed \u2013 sometime within the next 20 to 30 years. In other words: if it is to be prevented, the decisive steps must be taken by today\u2019s active generation.<\/p>\n Scientists also concluded that several climate models had probably underestimated the speed at which the AMOC is weakening. The original \u201cpessimistic\u201d scenarios are now turning out to be realistic.<\/p>\n Unacceptable risk:<\/strong> Oceanographer Stefan Rahmstorf argued that the collapse must be prevented \u201cat all costs\u201d. Even at a time when scientists estimated the probability of collapse at only around 5 percent, he considered the risk unacceptable in view of the possible consequences. \u201cThe most dramatic climate changes in the past 100,000 years occurred precisely when the AMOC switched to a different state,\u201d he warned<\/a> in The Guardian.<\/p>\n What can be done about it:<\/strong> Although the scientists\u2019 findings are alarming, they also point to concrete steps we can take.<\/p>\n Monbiot points to oligarchs:<\/strong> One of the UK\u2019s best-known environmental commentators, George Monbiot, used the new findings to criticise oligarchs and the fossil-fuel industry. He argued that they used their influence in politics and the media to downplay climate risks, including the potential collapse of ocean systems.<\/p>\n According to Monbiot, influential economic models also help them in this. He drew on criticism of the well-known economist and Nobel laureate William Nordhaus, whose models have significantly influenced<\/a> climate policies around the world. These models suggest that even very high warming of 4 degrees Celsius would cause \u201conly\u201d limited economic damage.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/11-3.jpg\")
The AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation) in the Northern hemisphere. Source : R. Curry, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution\/Science\/USGCRP\/Wikimedia <\/p>\n\n
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