Hannah Ritchie's First Generation: Environmental Optimism Armed with Data

Hannah Ritchie is a researcher at the University of Oxford and deputy editor-in-chief of Our World in Data, the data platform founded by Max Roser. Her book Not the End of the World, published in English in January 2024 by Chatto & Windus (352 pages), was released in French under the title Première Génération by Les Arènes in October 2025 (376 pages, translated by Julia Couvret-Donadieu, €24). Bill Gates called it an "essential book." The Guardian described it as "an optimistic guide to the climate crisis." The book has been translated into about twenty languages.

Eight Chapters, Eight Crises, Counter-Intuitive Data on Each

The book is structured around eight environmental challenges. Each chapter poses a factual question and answers it with data.

The thesis can be summarized in one sentence: we are the first generation to possess both precise knowledge of the damage and the tools to remedy it. No previous generation has had both. Ritchie follows in the footsteps of Hans Rosling (Factfulness, 2018) and Max Roser, but with an environmental specialization that neither of them had developed.

Air Pollution: − 45% Indoor Pollution Since 1990, − 95% SO₂ in London Since 1960

Ritchie begins with a fact that most people are unaware of: the deadliest air pollution is not in cities, but in kitchens. The burning of wood, coal, and dung inside homes kills about 3.2 million people annually, primarily women and children in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. This indoor pollution has decreased by 45% since 1990 due to increased access to LPG and electricity.

Outdoor pollution follows a similar trajectory in wealthy countries. Sulfur dioxide concentrations in London have fallen by 95% since the 1960s. Air quality in Pittsburgh, once nicknamed "the smoky city," has improved to the point where fine particulate matter levels there are now lower than in Beijing. The problem remains massive in India, Pakistan, and several African countries, but the global trend is downward.

Climate: The UK's Per Capita CO₂ is Back to 1850 Levels

This is the most striking figure in the book. The UK's per capita carbon footprint, including imports, has returned to its 1850 level. Global per capita emissions peaked in 2012 and have been declining since. The cost of solar photovoltaics has dropped by 99% since 1976.

Ritchie does not claim the problem is solved. Absolute emissions continue to rise due to population and economic growth. However, she demonstrates that decoupling economic growth from emissions is now a reality in about thirty countries, not just a promise.

Food: Transport Accounts for Only 5% of Sector Emissions

The chapter on food debunks several myths. Food transport accounts for only 5% of the sector's emissions. What we eat matters much more than where it comes from. Buying local tomatoes grown in heated greenhouses emits more CO₂ than tomatoes imported from Spain by truck.

Another counter-intuitive statistic: switching from beef to chicken reduces the carbon footprint more than becoming vegetarian if one already consumes mostly chicken. Plastic packaging accounts for only 4% of food emissions. Food waste, on the other hand, accounts for 6% of total global emissions.

Biodiversity: Wild Mammals Now Represent Only 2% of Terrestrial Biomass

The figure is stark. Wild mammals now represent only 2% of the total biomass of terrestrial mammals. The rest consists of humans (34%) and livestock (62%). Ritchie does not downplay this reality. However, she shows that protected areas are effective: populations of species living in protected zones are stabilizing or increasing, while those living outside these areas continue to decline.

The chapter on oceans follows the same logic. Overfishing peaked in the 1990s. Sustainably managed fish stocks are recovering. The problem remains concentrated in waters where regulation is weak or non-existent.

Ritchie Rejects Degrowth and Population Reduction: An Explicit Choice

The book has its blind spots. Ritchie explicitly dismisses degrowth and population reduction as solutions. She relies on technological innovation, energy efficiency, and public policies. Mark Avery, in his review, notes that this optimism could demobilize those who are already not very engaged. The Guardian questions whether the book underestimates the systemic dimensions of the crisis—power relations, fossil fuel lobbies, structural inequalities.

Ritchie also does not delve deeply into the issue of climate justice. The countries that have contributed most to historical emissions are not those suffering the most severe consequences. The book remains focused on aggregated global trends, which sometimes masks considerable regional disparities.

The French Translation Arrives in a Polarized Context Between Catastrophism and Denial

In France, the environmental debate oscillates between two extremes. On one hand, paralyzing catastrophism: if everything is lost, why act? On the other, demobilizing denial: if environmentalists are exaggerating, why change? Ritchie proposes a third position: the problems are serious, progress is real, and fatalism is an obstacle to action.

Première Génération does not claim that everything is fine. The book states that things are better than most people believe, that solutions exist and are already working at scale in several countries, and that the main obstacle is no longer technological but political and psychological.

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