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jmward01 10 hours ago

So many of those 'could maybe happen' are, in fact, happening right now. The researcher is also quoted as saying 'more likely than not' which is pretty big when it comes to something like the AMOC shutting down. This really is catastrophic and really should be causing governments to take immediate, massive, steps to avert it including steps to sanction countries that are causing it.

joquarky 6 hours ago | parent | next [-]

The government entities that can actually do anything are only reactionary now.

spwa4 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

The big consequence here is for the EU. And the only way to deal with this is for the EU to force US, India and China to seriously reduce energy use, and with that, their economy.

This is not going to happen. The EU can't even convince itself to stop buying from China.

jmward01 10 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I don't think China needs convincing. They have likely already hit peak emissions and will start dropping, potentially rapidly, going forward. Europe is big. It just needs to move forward with purpose and things will happen. Getting that purpose is the hard part because world leaders have consistently said 'it will destroy our economy' and never actually tried. China, again, is showing that this isn't true. You can have both, a strong economy and a plan, backed by action, to decarbonize. Had Europe and the US had the forethought to actually invest in solar and batteries then they could be leading the energy transition and profiting, with literal profit meaning hard cash, right now by selling to the rest of the world. Instead the boogyman argument of 'it will destroy our economy' keeps rearing its head. I am absolutely done with that argument.

spwa4 6 hours ago | parent [-]

I don't get what's with all the China fanboys here. China is increasing it's CO2 output quite a bit. And for completeness, so is India. For both countries the CO2 output is bad enough that it's not just adding to global warming, but this coal plant smoke what's causing the famous smog in Beijing and New Delhi. It's causing breathing problems, cancer, ... in their population.

runarberg 3 hours ago | parent [-]

They demonstrably are not.

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-co2-emissions-ha...

https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-indias-co2-emissions-in...

2ndorderthought 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

China has made huge efforts toward sustainable power. Google it.

The us on the other hand is well you know blowing up oil all over the world with military conflicts that are wars but aren't wars but are wars that are over but evolving and over and evolving. They are also rolling back green energy projects , fueling data centers with gas, etc.

scoofy 9 hours ago | parent | next [-]

China’s greatest geopolitical weakness is lack of access to petroleum. That’s why they are going so hard on renewables. We just get the benefits for free.

pipodeclown 6 hours ago | parent [-]

Sure but that doesn't change the fact that they are charging s Ahead while the rest of us sit on our hands.

leereeves 5 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

> China has made huge efforts toward sustainable power. Google it.

While also increasing carbon-emissions. China is investing in creating more energy from every source.

an hour ago | parent [-]
[deleted]
kjetijor 10 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It seems naive to think this will only have big consequences for the EU, it'll be disastrous for everything around the Atlantic, and likely beyond.

pllbnk 8 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

It won't be the case that a global scale ocean current collapses and its impact is local. It's like a butterfly effect where the butterfly is the size of an ocean - its wing flap will resonate throughout entire world with unpredictable natural and social consequences. There will be no winners, only losers.

fatuna 10 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

While there is definitely a big consequence for the EU (and surrounding countries), the article mentions big impacts for the whole world. When it comes to climate, nobody is left untouched...