Climate Doom? This Data Scientist Says Hold Up.
By: Akinde S. Oluwaseun
Ten years. Paris Agreement signed. But emissions? Still climbing. Temperatures? Hitting new highs. Wild weather everywhere. Meanwhile, the US? Flipping on clean energy. Rolling back policies. Pulling support. Feels hopeless, right?
Not so fast. Meet Hannah Ritchie. Oxford researcher. Data guru. She sees what headlines miss. Real progress. Her new book, Clearing the Air, tackles climate myths. She’s not sweating China’s coal rush. Or AI’s energy hype. Even the US reversal? She’s calm.
Yale Environment 360 asked: US cuts clean energy support. Global impact?
Ritchie’s take? “US transition? Yeah, it’ll slow. But globally? I’m not convinced. When big powers like the US lean back? Others lean forward. Look at China. They’re not just building clean energy fast at home. They’re dominating global markets. Seeing opportunity. US pulling back? Just fuels China’s fire.”
How does China make clean tech so cheap? Labor costs? Partially. But bigger factor? Automation. “Workers per battery? Six times lower than the US,” Ritchie notes.
US tariffs on Chinese goods? Good idea? Ritchie shakes her head. “Tariffs protect manufacturing jobs. Sure. But clean energy jobs? Most aren’t in factories. They’re in installation. Procurement. Repair. Raise prices? Slow deployment? You lose jobs everywhere else. Tariffs backfire.”
US automakers backing off EVs? Sales slowing? Global shift stalled? Ritchie’s unfazed. “Outside the US? EVs are booming. US electric car share? Way behind. Norway? 80%+ new cars are electric. China? Over half. That’s massive growth. 2020? Just 6%. Soon, poorer countries? They’ll get cheap EVs. Scooters. From China. Free from oil. Not in the US. But globally? Momentum’s real.”
