Exclusive | Climate Expert Susan Solomon: Renewables Now Cheaper Than Fossil Fuels

U.S. atmospheric chemist Susan Solomon has been awarded the 2026 Tang Prize (唐獎) in Sustainable Development. In a video interview with Storm Media, she said: "We have crossed an important threshold — renewable energy now costs less than fossil fuels. Combined with the Russia-Ukraine war and the Iran conflict driving more countries toward renewables, this helps reduce carbon dioxide emissions. So I am optimistic about the future."

Solomon is a professor in the Department of Earth, Atmospheric and Planetary Sciences at MIT. In 1986, she led a field expedition to Antarctica to study the ozone layer, providing key evidence that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) were the primary cause of ozone hole expansion over the South Pole. Her new book, Solvable: How We Healed the Earth, and How We Can Do It Again, recounts how science, public policy, and international cooperation collectively addressed the ozone depletion crisis.

Speaking from her home on the U.S. East Coast after learning of the award, Solomon received cross-Pacific congratulations from Academia Sinica Academician Liu Chao-Han (劉兆漢) and Academician and longtime colleague Liu Shao-Chen (劉紹臣). Tang Prize CEO Dr. Jenn-Chuan Chern (陳振川) said Solomon is expected to travel to Taiwan in September for the award ceremony and will take part in a laureate forum to engage directly with young students.

During his second term, U.S. President Donald Trump has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement, eliminated subsidies for renewable energy and electric vehicles, and encouraged fossil fuel use — moves that have drawn sharp criticism from environmental advocates. Nevertheless, Solomon, who has spent more than 40 years researching climate change, said she remains optimistic. The cost of renewable energy has fallen dramatically and is now cheaper than fossil fuels, she noted. From an economic standpoint, that shift will naturally steer countries toward renewables.

Solomon pointed to a series of international developments accelerating the transition. The Russia-Ukraine war pushed European countries to rapidly develop alternative energy sources, given their historical dependence on Russian fossil fuels. The Iran conflict has similarly prompted other nations — including those in Asia — to accelerate renewable energy development. "As renewable energy prices continue to fall, you will keep seeing a snowball effect over the coming years," she said.

As an American, Solomon said she is disappointed by her country's shift on climate policy. She emphasized, however, that climate change involves many nations, and that U.S. withdrawal from negotiations does not necessarily halt progress — noting that when the United States previously pulled out of the Kyoto Protocol, the agreement still achieved meaningful outcomes.

Solomon noted that the United States accounts for only about 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which means other countries carry greater weight in determining outcomes. The steep recent decline in renewable energy costs is encouraging, she said, and many recent developments point toward a more sustainable trajectory. China has made substantial progress in this area, while the United States has invested heavily in alternative energy technology development. "It is very important that people keep pressing governments to prioritize energy transition and move toward sustainable development," she said.

She warned that continued reliance on fossil fuels as a primary energy source is incompatible with long-term planetary sustainability — and that without a course correction, Earth could face severe resource depletion by the end of the 21st century. Yet the pace of decline in renewable energy costs gives her genuine reason for optimism. "I am not as despondent as some people," she said. "I see a lot to look forward to."

On how individuals can influence government action, Solomon offered both structural and personal dimensions. "People must pressure governments to sustain the energy transition toward sustainable development," she said. At the individual level, she pointed to practical steps already available: installing solar panels on home balconies, or reducing meat consumption in daily life.

Asked what drew her to more than four decades of climate research, Solomon said she discovered planetary chemistry at age 21 and found it compelling — the study of chemical processes on planets, rather than in laboratory test tubes. When the Antarctic ozone hole was discovered, she happened to be in the right place at the right time to conduct research that proved to be of global importance. "I have never enjoyed science as much as I did during that time," she said.

Solomon's current research focuses on ozone layer recovery and understanding the full evolutionary trajectory of the ozone layer. "This is a great time to be a climate and ozone scientist," she said.

The rapid global investment in artificial intelligence has sparked growing debate over its energy and electricity consumption. On reconciling AI expansion with sustainability goals, Solomon said: "I would like to see an international AI framework agreement — a negotiated structure between companies and governments. But without active public pressure, that framework will not materialize." She noted that such a framework is not intended to halt AI development.

"AI's energy demands are enormous and should be managed within a regulatory framework to reduce pressure on power systems — and certainly not by increasing fossil fuel use," Solomon said. "In the United States, we have done a poor job of limiting fossil fuel consumption. For a period, we were moving in the right direction. Now that has changed."

Solomon proposed a concrete structural remedy: placing AI expansion within a governance framework that requires companies to bear the costs of new electricity infrastructure, rather than socializing those costs across the public. "This is not impossible," she said. "We simply have a habit of privatizing the benefits and socializing the costs." She added that many people are already working to shift that burden back onto the corporations driving infrastructure demand.

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