Hardcore mode seems a bit luck based because of the bombardment of events. A lot of the time, I tend to lose because I can't pay off events that cost the same resource.
yeah it is a bit luck based. just make sure that you pay off the events first that cause more events. if you don't have enough resources, restart and focus on getting more resources. after that you can either remove the industry 20th century card or buy a lot of solar subsides and/or pollution regulation from transition from fossils. after that go carbon negative and choose a victory path