How to tackle global warming - and how not to

The Independent.

Read the opinion of Bjorn Lomborg and Tony Jupiter.

By Laura DavisWednesday, 13 June 2012

Fifty years ago, few people cared about pollution, deforestation, whaling or the Ozone layer. But even with an increasing awareness of issues concerning the environment, there is still a long way to go. This week The Independent is looking at the successes and failures of the Green Movement at 50, with a series of blogs and features centred around the question: “Has the environment movement been a success?” 

The 'Skeptical Environmentalist' offers 12 low-cost, proven policies that he says would save 4.2 million lives and generate $1.1 trillion in new wealth every year.

Many western donors love the idea that instead of dirty, coal-fired power-plants, poor nations should ‘leapfrog’ straight to cleaner energy sources such as off-grid solar technology. The World Bank is at the forefront of these efforts, no longer funding coal energy projects.

Off-grid solar projects begin with grand intentions, but too often end with recipients barely better off. We can see this in the small Pacific island nation of Fiji, where the government – advocates of strong global climate policy – teamed up with a Japanese technology company to deliver off-grid solar power.