Not the End of the World- can we really be the first generation to build a sustainable planet?

‘Not the End of the World’ by data scientist Hannah Ritchie is prominent on many recommended lists of books to read this summer.

It’s full of facts, evidence and insights designed to dispel the sense of pessimism about many of our biggest and most intractable environmental problems. There’s little doubt the 8 billion or so people living on this planet need some good news. More than half of 16–25-year-olds in a recent global survey said they thought humanity was doomed.

So, does the book succeed in making readers feel better about humanity’s ability to deal with the climate change crisis? I’m afraid in the view of this old cynic, sometimes the overwhelming optimism can be overdone as it hammers home a message of positivity.

Hannah is part of Oxford University’s Programme for Global Development as well as being closely involved with the Our World in Data project. Making sense of complexity through data is at the core of her work.

Her central theme is one of conditional optimism and why we can be the first generation to achieve sustainability. That’s defined as meeting the needs of the current generation without degrading the environment for future generations. Hannah’s adamant that there’s been no better time to be alive than today. Global population growth has halved since the 1960’s and is due to peak in the next decade.

The sense of possibility and progress is illustrated by the fact that through our collective efforts, child deaths have halved since 1990 and that in 2020, 90% of the world’s population had access to electricity.

The way in which international action dealt with the threat of acid rain and reduced ozone emissions by 99%, or how the Chinese capital Beijing has halved levels of pollution in less than a decade is provided as testament to humanity’s ability to solve problems.

She believes that we have a real chance of being the first generation to see the end of deforestation and we can live a prosperous life without changing the climate. Nor indeed is economic growth incompatible with reducing our environmental impact. It makes financial sense to turn to renewable energy.

According to this book, we do need to stress more about issues such as air pollution. Humanity’s biggest single killer is burning wood. Cleaner cooking fuels and reducing poverty are just some of the ways to address that problem.   

I was struck by the fact that here in the UK, due to the decision a generation ago to close our coal mines, it seems our carbon emissions per head are at the same level as they were more than a century and a half ago.

I encourage you to read this thought-provoking book to be challenged and surprised.  I don’t doubt humans can solve problems and that technology has a crucial role to play in tackling the climate crisis. It’s the details and the difficulties of the transition, and crucially who pays for it, which I think require more attention and focus as well as how we help alleviate the suffering and destruction that climate change is bringing to the poorest parts of our planet today.