Is it too late for us to slow climate warming? | Hannah Ritchie, PhD

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May 27, 2025

Hannah Ritchie, a Senior Researcher at the University of Oxford and author of *Not the End of the World*, dives into the urgent climate crisis. She discusses the slipping 1.5°C target but reassures listeners that every fraction of a degree still matters. Their conversation highlights the need for transformative changes in energy, transport, food, and construction. Ritchie emphasizes the surprising viability of renewables, particularly solar and nuclear power, which could significantly reduce land use while remaining economically viable.

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INSIGHT

1.5°C Target Unlikely but Not Game Over

The 1.5°C global warming target is likely no longer feasible but not impossible to keep warming below 2°C.
Every increment above 1.5°C increases climate risks, so fighting for 1.6, 1.7, or 1.8°C still matters.

INSIGHT

Below 2°C Is Still Possible

It is still possible to keep global temperature rise below 2°C if countries meet current targets.
Achieving this requires ambitious and rapid emissions reductions worldwide.

ADVICE

Four Sectors to Target Emissions

Focus emission cuts on four sectors: energy, transport, food, and construction.
Replace fossil fuels with low-carbon energy like solar, wind, geothermal, and nuclear power.

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“I think the key point is that doesn't mean game over. That doesn't mean we're flipped into a world, and to a point of no return.”

**🌍 The 1.5°C Climate Goal Might Be Slipping Away — But It’s Not Game Over**

The once-ambitious goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C? It’s likely no longer within reach, says a climate expert. But that’s not a reason to give up. Every fraction of a degree matters — and fighting for 1.6, 1.7, or 1.8°C still means reducing risk, damage, and loss.

The Paris Agreement aimed to keep temperatures "well below 2°C" and ideally at 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. While 1.5°C now seems nearly impossible due to the sheer scale of emissions cuts required, staying under 2°C is *still* feasible — *if* countries hit their current targets.

What needs to change? Four key sectors:

**1. Energy** – Replace fossil fuels with low-carbon sources like solar, wind, geothermal, and especially **nuclear**, which has the *lowest land footprint*.

**2. Transport** – Shift to electric where possible, using decarbonized electricity.

**3. Food** – Reform agriculture, which uses *half* of all habitable land.

**4. Construction** – Build greener, more sustainable infrastructure.

The shift to renewables is now *economically viable*, with solar and wind already cheaper than coal or gas in many places. Land use fears? Overblown. Solar needs <1% of global land; even wind’s impact is mostly *visual*, not physical — and farming can continue around turbines. Nuclear, meanwhile, needs just 0.1% of land to power the world.

🌱 **The message is clear**: We may not hit 1.5°C, but every bit of progress still counts. The climate fight isn’t all or nothing — it’s a long game where every decimal degree saved can mean lives, ecosystems, and futures protected.

About Hannah Ritchie:

Dr. Hannah Ritchie is Senior Researcher in the Programme for Global Development at the University of Oxford. She is also Deputy Editor and Lead Researcher at Our World in Data. Her research appears regularly in the New York Times, The Economist, and the Financial Times, and in bestselling books including Steven Pinker’s Enlightenment Now. She is the author of Not the End of the World.

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