Joe Biden’s climate-change plans will burn billions, won’t bring change we actually need

Air quality has improved dramatically in rich countries over the past century. Yet air pollution is still a huge problem, especially in the developing world. It kills about 7 million people each year, accounting for one out of every eight deaths globally. But the most deadly air pollution comes from inside people's houses, because 2.8 billion people still use firewood, dung and coal for cooking and keeping warm, breathing polluted air inside their homes every day.

Op-ed by Bjørn Lomborg in Project Syndicate, 13 Jan, 2013. PRAGUE – Scare stories have been an integral part of the global warming narrative for a long time. Back in 1997, Al Gore told us that global warming was making the El Niño winds stronger and more severe. That has not happened. Greenpeace and many others have told us for years that we will see more violent hurricanes.

This year, the US federal government will spend more than $61 billion in humanitarian aid for the rest of the world.
Philanthropists and charitable donors will contribute another $30 billion.
Combined, this total is more than any other country, and it helps transform lives in poor countries.
But Americans — and everyone else — can do better. Not by spending more, but by spending more smartly.