Bad Idea #21 "We can’t solve climate change" with Hannah Ritchie

Saving the World From Bad Ideas

🔍 Episode Summary

Is it too late to stop climate change — or do we still have reasons for hope? In this episode, Mark Lynas talks with data scientist and author Hannah Ritchie, Deputy Editor of Our World in Data and author of Clearing the Air: The hopeful guide to solving climate change in 50 questions.

Hannah tackles some of the biggest climate myths head-on: that we’re doomed to runaway warming, that renewables can never power the world, and that going plant-based won’t make a difference. With data-driven clarity, she explains why the transition to clean energy is moving faster than people think, how “ultra-processed” doesn’t always mean unhealthy, and why there are no deal-breakers in the fight against climate change.

This conversation is both realistic and optimistic — a must-listen for anyone looking for evidence that solutions are within reach.

🧠 Topics Discussed

• 🌍 Why we are not locked into 5–6°C of warming
• ⚡ The clean energy transition and the speed of solar & wind growth
• 🔋 How to solve renewables’ variability with storage, nuclear, and grids
• 🌱 Land use myths: why renewables won’t “cover the landscape”
• 🚗 Electric vehicles: efficiency gains and outdated myths
• 🥩 Meat substitutes, ultra-processed foods, and what the data actually shows
• 🏗 Cement, steel, and other “hard to abate” sectors
• ✈ Aviation’s future: biofuels, hydrogen, or carbon removal?
• 🌞 Solar geoengineering — risky gamble or necessary backup plan?
• 🌟 Why Hannah calls her book “a hopeful guide”

👩‍🏫 Guest Bio

Hannah Ritchie is Deputy Editor at Our World in Data and author of the Substack Sustainability by Numbers. Her new book Clearing the Air tackles 50 of the most common myths and half-truths about climate change with a data-driven approach. Hannah is known for making complex climate data accessible and empowering.

📚 Recommended Reading & Referenced resources

• • Clearing the Air — Hannah Ritchie
  • Not the end of the World — Hannah Ritchie
  • Our World in Data – Climate Change Collection
    
  • Sustainability by Numbers Substack — Hannah Ritchie
  • IPCC AR6 – Working Group III (Mitigation of Climate Change)
  • Six Degrees, our final warning — Mark Lynas
  • Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air — David MacKay
    

💬 Quote Highlights

• “We are not headed for five or six degrees of warming. Every fraction of a degree we avoid reduces risk.” — Hannah Ritchie
• “Solar and wind are growing faster than any energy source in history. This transition can be much quicker than people think.” — Hannah Ritchie
• “Yes, the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow — but that’s a solvable problem.” — Hannah Ritchie
• “The idea that renewables will cover the landscape is just wrong. Powering a country with solar takes only a few percentage points of land.” — Hannah Ritchie
• "There are no deal-breakers. None of the questions I tackle suggest this is impossible — all are solvable.” — Hannah Ritchie

🌐 About WePlanet

WePlanet is a global citizen and science movement challenging bad ideas and championing evidence-based solutions for climate, nature, and human development. Learn more at weplanet.org.

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