We could be the first generation to build an environmentally sustainable and profitable planet.
Stop pitting environmentalism against profitability, and work together to make a better world. So says Hannah Ritchie, senior researcher in the University of Oxford’s Programme for Global Development, and lead researcher and deputy editor of online resource Our World in Data, in her first book, Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation To Build a Sustainable Planet.
The book is a magnificent, data-rich report on the climate crisis and its economic impact in 2024. It has a place in every conversation about environmentalism and how people, companies and countries should plan for the future.
Ritchie proposes a strategy for how individuals, corporations and governments can (and should) improve economic growth and combat climate change, air and plastic pollution, and more. And thanks to the straightforward, pragmatic, deeply researched, and carefully presented data shared in this book, I am convinced.
Stress less
Ritchie’s proposal begins with myth-busting. First, she explains that the world has never been sustainable. In 1987, the United Nation’s Brundtland Commission defined sustainability as “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”. Yet, at every point in history up to today, says Ritchie, we have not met that definition of sustainability as a planet. Child mortality rates, coal- and wood-burning, rapid deforestation and pollution have plagued the developed world since the beginning of human history. Doubtful? Ritchie notes that the Ancient Greek philosopher Hippocrates recorded concerns about air pollution as far back as 400 BCE.
This gives readers a golden opportunity. We could be the first generation to build a sustainable planet. Imagine, writes Ritchie, a world where technology and innovation speed along while people live healthier and more satisfied lives – and the world’s biomass thrives.
But the commonly touted ‘solutions’ – controlling over-population and constraining economic growth – will not help, Ritchie explains. Controlling the number of people on the planet is not helpful because birth rates are falling anyway; the global population will peak this century. And ‘de-growth’ is the opposite of what we should do: technology and spending allow us to make more sustainable choices.
What should we do instead? The third truth is that building a sustainable planet is possible. In fact, it’s happening now. You may think immediately of indigenous populations in tribes who live in harmony with their environments. These examples are not convincing for large countries and economic powerhouses, as Ritchie notes. Rather, she suggests that we look to examples of sustainable successes – both economic and environmental – in countries like China, the US, the UK and Denmark.
For example, Beijing’s 2008 Summer Olympics was marred by air pollution so great that reporters at the time called it an “airpocalypse”. Fast forward to Beijing’s Winter Olympics in 2022, and pollution had fallen by 55% in seven years. Life expectancy had increased by 4.6 years, and the city didn’t even rank among the world’s 200 most-polluted offenders. How? Citizens demanded proper air-quality monitoring and data, and the Chinese government declared a ‘war on pollution’. Strict regulations were introduced on industrial plants, old cars were taken off the road, coal stations near the city were closed, and gas boilers replaced coal boilers. The results speak for themselves. The lessons learned will benefit any country looking to make similar changes.
What’s more, Ritchie highlights three ingredients that made rapid change in Beijing possible. They are ingredients that can be found in many countries and institutions: a demanding citizenship, money, and political will. In short, urges Ritchie: stress less about niche challenges, and take inspiration from ongoing work with practical steps on what to do next.
Find the truth
Sensationalism has no place in this book, with every claim challenged and reviewed in detail. Thus, the fourth truth we learn is that headlines lie. Ritchie begins each chapter with real headlines from the last few years, then uses valuable, credible data to disprove the myth and highlight the truth.
For example, in 2019 French President Emmanuel Macron said: “The Amazon rainforest – the lungs which produce 20% of our planet’s oxygen – is on fire.” The implication that deforestation in the Amazon threatens Earth’s oxygen supply, explained by Ritchie, is false. The Amazon, she explains, doesn’t provide 20% of the world’s oxygen. “On balance,” writes Ritchie, “it contributes almost none of it.” Credible data shows that the Amazon produces 6-9% of the world’s oxygen (not 20%) – and consumes almost all of that to keep itself alive.
Instead of focusing on boycotting soy or avoiding palm oil products, Ritchie proposes putting energy into more impactful efforts, such as improving crop yields and paying poorer countries to end deforestation – a cheap way to stop carbon emissions.
This is a pattern throughout the book: present a problem, challenge it with half a dozen citations from people and studies that both agree with and contradict the author, and then suggest a solution. It’s a winning formula that helps readers focus on the truth amidst exaggerated and unhelpful noise.
Move faster
Not the End of the World presents data that proves our world has never been sustainable and that things are actually improving. What we need now, says Ritchie, is urgent optimism: the belief and inspiration that we can make a difference. This book is a great guide to doing so. Read it to inform your conversation and direct your organization to high-impact activities. Then, hand this book to a climate-anxious employee or nervous family member and be part of the first generation to build a sustainable planet.
Kirsten Levermore is deputy editor of Dialogue.
