Lomborg Interview on fracking; Newshour on BBC World Service

Though the images of abandoned cars in waterlogged East Coast streets might make you think otherwise, the relative toll that floods take on the U.S.—in property and lives—has decreased over time. Flooding costs as a share of gross domestic product declined almost 10-fold since 1903 to 0.05% of GDP, while annual flood death risk—fatalities per million—dropped almost threefold. World-wide data are sparser, but flood research shows costs relative to GDP and deaths relative to population have decreased globally from 1980 to 2010.

‘Best Things First’ author Bjorn Lomborg reacts to President-elect Trump’s alleged plans to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement on ‘Varney & Co.’

Phasing out fossil fuel subsidies is an obvious target for the world’s next development goals.

The world spends $548 billion subsidizing fossil fuels, mostly in developing countries. A disproportionate share of the subsidies goes to the middle class and the rich – after all, they are the ones who can afford a car in poor countries.