Björn Lomborg: Europe's sceptical environmentalist

COPENHAGEN – For the better part of a decade, I have upset many climate activists by pointing out that there are far better ways to stop global warming than trying to persuade governments to force or bribe their citizens into slashing their reliance on fuels that emit carbon dioxide. What especially bugs my critics is the idea that cutting carbon is a cure that is worse than the disease – or, to put it in economic terms, that it would cost far more than the problem it is meant to solve. “How can that possibly be true?” they ask. “After all, we are talking about the end of the world.

Little progress seen at UN climate change talks 10/8/2010 Experts say climate talks have been stymied by national self-interest (...) Given the mounting obstacles to a significant climate change agreement, Dr. Bjorn Lomborg, director of the Danish think tank Copenhagen Consensus Center and author of “The Skeptical Environmentalist,” says he’s hoping for a return to the proverbial drawing board.  

COPENHAGEN – Common sense was an early loser in the scorching battle over the reality of man-made global warming. For nearly 20 years, one group of activists argued – in the face of ever-mounting evidence – that global warming was a fabrication. Their opponents, meanwhile, exaggerated the phenomenon’s likely impact – and, as a consequence, dogmatically fixated on drastic, short-term carbon cuts as the only solution, despite overwhelming evidence that such cuts would be cripplingly expensive and woefully ineffective. (...)