Last week Donald Trump let the UN general assembly know exactly what he thought about renewable energy sources. “I’ve been right about everything and I’m telling you that if you don’t get away from this green scam, your country is going to fail,” he said.

Despite this political opposition, in the last 36 months there has been a global revolution in clean energy. The acclaimed environmentalist and writer Bill McKibben explains to Lucy Hough that we have now passed a tipping point when it comes to solar energy, driven by falling prices, widespread innovation and countries’ desire for energy independence.

McKibben outlines how China is becoming the world’s first “electrostate” and argues that while this global shift is too big for the US president to prevent, activism and engagement is still required to reign in the worst excesses of the climate crisis. Finally, McKibben discusses the important role that clean energy may play in loosening the grip of authoritarianism around the world.

Bill McKibben’s new book, Here Comes the Sun, is out now.

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