The Elements of Power

Does Niarchos' book confront green exploitation, warn of China's rise or expose climate hypocrisy?

2 days ago·Updated 1 day ago

REVIEW

Above: Cover of Nicolas Niarchos' 2026 book, "The Elements of Power." Image credit: Penguin Press via X

The Spin

Left narrative

"The Elements of Power" confronts the human cost of the green transition. Niarchos reveals an amoral mining free-for-all in which the Global South bears the damage, exploitation and danger as China and the West compete for resources powering cleaner technology. From Congo's colonial legacy to battery supply chains serving Apple and Tesla, this book shows how progress can come at an appalling human toll.

The Observer

Right narrative

"The Elements of Power" charts how China spent decades seizing the battery metals and technology race while the West lagged through political flip-flopping and strategic blindness. Niarchos shows CATL and BYD's vast R&D armies outpacing entire nations, leaving the West on course to become as dependent on Chinese batteries as it once was on Middle East oil. From Congo's mines to global supply chains, Beijing emerges as the sole winner; a sobering warning of power shifting East.

The Telegraph Financial Times

Climate-concerned narrative

Niarchos shatters the illusion that the "green" transition was ever a clean break from fossil fuels. He details corporations and governments repeating the same greed, exploitation and indifference under a greener banner, with Congo's cobalt mines as the starkest example. The world is making the same Mephistophelian bargain once again, trading one dirty energy system for another while claiming to have built something different. It's a damning indictment of green hypocrisy.

Geographical