Are We Near the AMOC Tipping Point?

In this Climate Emergency Forum episode the alarming new science on the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – the “mother of all tipping points” is discussed. This includes the reason why the AMOC is weakening, how massive freshwater from Greenland melt and the Arctic is destabilizing the system, and why several recent studies now suggest a coin-flip chance of a severe AMOC shutdown this century.

This video was recorded on April 22nd, 2026, and published on April 26th, 2026, and represents the opinions of the discussion participants.

Peter and Paul outline what an AMOC collapse could mean for our world: dramatic climate shifts between the Arctic and Antarctic, chaotic jet streams, disrupted rainfall and growing seasons, and unprecedented risks to global food production and human societies. They also discuss whether rapid emissions cuts, CO₂ drawdown, and planetary cooling measures can still help, and why we urgently need new international institutions to manage such civilizational-scale risks.

Watch to understand why top scientists like Stefan Rahmstorf are increasingly worried, and what world leaders should be doing now – before this critical ocean circulation tips beyond our control.

Links:

• Support Our Mission

• Explosive New WMO Climate Report (CEF Video)

• Super El Niño Ahead? (CEF Video)

• Meridionally consistent decline in the observed western boundary contribution to the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

• Opinion: The AMOC is weakening – time to take the evidence seriously

• Generalized stability landscape of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation

• Will Our Ride into the Greenhouse Future Be a Smooth One?

• Thermohaline Circulation, the Achilles Heel of Our Climate System: Will Man-Made CO2 Upset the Current Balance?

• The Future of the Thermohaline Circulation – A Perspective

• Wally Was Right

• Noise-induced tipping of the AMOC under climate mitigation scenarios

• AMOC Amok (CEF Video)

• Dansgaard-Oeschger event

• Heinrich Event

• What a 5,000-mile-long marine heat wave means for summer in the US

• Hot Water Horror - Marine Heatwaves (CEF Video)

• World food systems ‘pushed to the brink’ by extreme heat, UN Warns

• First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels

Regular Panelists:

• Dr. Peter Carter - MD, Expert IPCC Reviewer and the director of the Climate Emergency Institute.

• Paul Beckwith - Climate Systems Scientist. Professor at the University of Ottawa’s Paleoclimatology Laboratory as well as at Carleton University.

• Herb Simmens - Author, Co-founder of the Healthy Planet Action Coalition (HPAC), Climate Emergency Board Member and former college instructor.

Video Production:

• Charles Gregoire - Electrical Engineer, Webmaster and IT prime for FacingFuture.Earth & the Climate Emergency Forum; Climate Reality Leader

• Heidi Brault - Climate Reality Leader, BA(Psychology), Library & Information Technician Diploma - Video production and website assistant - Organizer and convener, Metadata technician, COP Team Lead for FacingFuture.Earth and the Climate Emergency Forum.

Attributions:

Background Music:

• Title: Through the City II
• Author: Crowander
• Source: crowander.com

Image and Video:

• Image and Video Attributions