In this ClimateGenn episode I speak with researcher, Rene van Westen. We discuss his recent paper looking at how the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) responds in three different carbon emissions scenarios. This work builds on his – and colleagues – previous research that looked at establishing the conditions for the AMOC to collapse.

René et al's findings shed new light on the risks we are facing from this vital ocean circulation in the Atlantic that connects to the global climate system.

The research paper can be accessed here: https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2025GL114611

In this ClimateGenn episode we are looking at 3 interviews recorded at the Arctic Repair Conference in Cambridge hosted by the Centre for Climate Repair at the University of Cambridge.

In the 1st interview with Centre for Climate Repair director, Dr Shaun Fitzgerald, we touch on some of the theme emerging from the conference but also from the news cycle during London Climate Week that was running concurrently.

In the 2nd interview I speak with Anni Pokela from the Finnish organisation Operaatio Arktis – an emerging think tank looking to articulate informed discussions around extreme climate impacts, tipping points and geoengineering also called climate interventions. Operaatio Arktis have gained international recognition for their clear engagement on these complex and often taboo topics.

The 3rd interview in this series is with Justus Lehtisaari also from Operaatio Arktis. Both these conversations are recorded during the evening drinks in Cambridge and attempt to explore how their work interacts with such a broad range of issues that we are collectively facing today.

There are 5 more interviews from the Arctic Repair conference that include Indigenous Climate representative from Tuvalu, Faatupu Simeti discussing the existential threat of sea-level rise and inundation, as well as a conversation with Julius Mihkkal Eriksen Lindi, PROJECT COORDINATOR at the Arctic and Environmental Unit from the Saami Council who is tasked with trying to see if climate interventions can help preserve their way of life or be rejected as dangerous to life.

There are also a second set of discussions with Kerry Nickols from Ocean Visions, Jason Box from the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, and Rafe Pomerance, a legendary climate policy expert based in Washington.

I have a backlog of interviews waiting to be published and recorded. I will uploaded a preview of my interview this week with David Spratt from Australia, an in-depth discussion of policy and risk response. David is always very well informed and has much to say.

Thank you for listening.

In this episode Nick Breeze speaks with Dr Soumitra Das from the Healthy Climate Initiative. Soumitra sheds light on the life threatening challenges that face citizens in India and surrounding countries today. A major threat to life is when heat and humidity combine – known as wet bulb temperatures. This is when the body is unable to cool itself, leading to fatal heatstrokes within a few hours. Today 2% of India’s population are exposed to wet bulb extremes. In a country nearing 1.5 billion people, 2% equates to ~around 30 million people. On the current trajectory this figure is set to rise by midcentury to 70%, or, in real terms, in excess of 1 billion citizens at risk of heatstroke.The fossil fuel industry is the main culprit of this ongoing rise in temperatures, doing everything they can to slow the inevitable transition to clean renewable energy. The impact on peoples lives, infrastructure, biodiversity on land and in the oceans, is incalculable, as carbon emissions continue to rise. All of this is set against the needlessly worsening relations between humans around the world. New episodes include interviews with Professor Mark Maslin at UCL about the state of what the recent World Meteorological Organisation Climate Report tells us and his views on whether we should be looking into methods to cool the earth while we continue to try and reduce emissions. Nick also catch's up with Dr René van Westen at Utrecht University about his and his colleagues new AMOC research paper. The research tells us more indications of Europe’s dramatic climate future as the global mean temperature rises over 2ºC. This is inline with our current emissions scenarios that scientists have told us we should avoid at all costs. Currently our emissions trajectory is taking us much much higher and raises hard questions about the future we want to try and exist in.