About Bjorn Lomborg

As a researcher and writer, Bjorn Lomborg is dedicated to identifying the smartest solutions for global challenges. Serving as president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, he has worked with hundreds of top economists to prioritize the most cost-effective ways to create meaningful change. Through his publications, Bjorn highlights and advocates for efficient, evidence-based strategies to address the world’s most pressing problems. To learn more about his work, explore the biography below.

Portrait Bjorn Lomborg

Short biography

Dr. Bjorn Lomborg is a world-renowned author, academic, and thought leader, famous for his data-driven approach to global challenges. He is President of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, which has worked with hundreds of the world’s top economists and several Nobel laureates to identify the most cost-effective solutions for the planet's greatest problems, and a Visiting Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.
 
A bestselling author whose most recent books include False Alarm and Best Things First, Lomborg’s insightful analysis is regularly featured in top-tier publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, and The Financial Times. His work has shaped international debates on climate, development, and smart policy solutions, and he has been named one of TIME magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world, one of Foreign Policy’s top 100 global thinkers, and “one of the 50 people who could save the planet” by The Guardian. A sought-after speaker and commentator, Lomborg has appeared on many of the biggest media platforms worldwide, including a notable appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience.
 
Lomborg’s mission is to move beyond alarmism and focus on smart, efficient investments that deliver the greatest benefits for people and the planet.
 

Longer biography

Dr. Bjorn Lomborg is an academic and the author of the best-selling "Best Things First", "False Alarm: How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet", "The Skeptical Environmentalist" and "Cool It". He challenges mainstream concerns about development and the environment and points out that we need to focus attention on the smartest solutions first. He is a visiting fellow at the Stanford University's Hoover Institution, and president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center which brings together many of the world's top economists, including seven Nobel Laureates, to set priorities for the world. The University of Pennsylvania asked almost 7,000 think tanks and thousands of journalists, public and private donors, and policymakers from around the world to nominate and rank the world's best think tanks. Copenhagen Consensus Center's advocacy for data-driven smart solutions to global challenges were voted into the top 20 among NGOs with up to 100 times' larger budget. The Economist said “Copenhagen Consensus is an outstanding, visionary idea and deserves global coverage.”

Lomborg is a frequent participant in public debates on policy issues. His analysis and commentaries have appeared regularly in such prestigious publications as the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, The Economist, Washington Post, Financial Times, Globe & Mail, The Guardian, The Daily and Sunday Telegraph, The Australian, Los Angeles Times, Boston Globe, Die Welt, Der Spiegel and Le Monde. Lomborg’s monthly column appears in multiple languages in influential newspapers across all continents. He has appeared on networks such as CNN, FOX, MSNBC and the BBC, among others, including formats such as “The Joe Rogan Experience”, “60 Minutes”, “The Late Show with David Letterman”, and “Larry King Live”. He was featured in the movie “Cool It”, by Sundance Award winning director Ondi Timoner.

In 2011 and 2012, Lomborg was named Top 100 Global Thinker by Foreign Policy "for looking more right than ever on the politics of climate change". TIME Magazine ranked Lomborg among the world's 100 most influential people in 2004. In 2008 he was named "one of the 50 people who could save the planet" by the UK Guardian. In 2005 and 2008, Foreign Policy and Prospect Magazine called him "one of the top 100 public intellectuals", and in 2008 Esquire named him "one of the world's 75 most influential people of the 21st century."


Biographical facts

  • Bjorn Lomborg was born January 6, 1965.
  • M.A. in political science, 1991.
  • Ph.D. in political science at the Department of Political Science, University of Copenhagen. 1994.
  • Assistant professor at the Department of Political Science, University of Aarhus, 1994-1996.
  • Associate professor at the same place, 1997-2005.
  • Director of Denmark's National Environmental Assessment Institute , February 2002-July 2004.
  • Organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus prioritizing the best opportunities to the world's big challenges, 2004.
  • Adjunct professor at the Copenhagen Business School 2005-2015
  • Organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus prioritizing the best opportunities to the world's big challenges, 2008.
  • Organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus prioritizing the best opportunities to the world's big challenges, 2012.
  • Visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School 2016-2020
  • Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University 
  • Organizer of the Copenhagen Consensus prioritizing the best Sustainable Development Targets for the world, 2015.
  • President for the Copenhagen Consensus Center 
     

Honors and Accomplishments

  • President - Copenhagen Consensus Center (awarded US International Affairs Think Tank of the Year by Prospect Magazine)
  • Visiting Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University
  • Visiting Professor - Copenhagen Business School
  • Subject of the movie Cool It
  • One of the 100 Top Global Thinkers - Foreign Policy, 2011
  • Thought Leader - Bloomberg Summit 2011
  • One of the 100 Top Global Thinkers - Foreign Policy, 2010
  • One of the world's 75 most influential people of the 21st century - Esquire, 2008
  • One of the "50 people who could save the planet" - UK Guardian, 2008
  • One of the top 100 public intellectuals, Foreign Policy & Prospect Magazine, 2008
  • One of the top 100 public intellectuals, Foreign Policy & Prospect Magazine, 2005
  • One of the world's 100 most influential people - TIME Magazine, 2004

Said about Bjorn

Bjorn Lomborg did an amazing, informative yet entertaining presentation, that thoroughly engaged our 2,000+ CEOs. We got an overwhelming positive feedback. Moreover, Bjorn was easy to work with and focused on making our event work even better. Definitely recommended.

- Christian Engelsen, CEO & Founder, Presidents Institute

The world's leading do-good geek

- Stewart Brand, Environmentalist, futurist, President The Long Now Foundation​

Bjorn Lomborg is an excellent speaker and we’ve received a lot of hugely positive feedback. He delivered an inspiring and entertaining speech at our conference and we thank him very much for his contribution to make our event an outstanding success. Bjorn is on our short list of speakers to be invited again soon.

- Hermann Wimmer, CEO, Teradata; Teradata Universe Conference 2013