Lomborg's Project Syndicate op-ed: Green Bootleggers and Baptists

Has the war in Ukraine and a reliance upon Russian fossil fuels prompted western European nations to reconsider their respective energy strategies? Bjorn Lomborg, a Hoover visiting fellow and environmental researcher, discusses ways for developed nations to reduce energy independence and battle climate change without necessarily devastating economies and lifestyles.

You’ll be hit by two big things: (1) Despite the nonstop stream of depressing news, the world is actually getting to be a better place—cleaner, more prosperous, less violent. (2) By pursuing commonsensical, cost-effective programs to battle the troubles still plaguing our planet, we can achieve a level of prosperity and quality of life for all that would have been deemed utterly unattainable only a few years ago. You’ll be heartened and inspired by much of what you hear in our absorbing conversation.

Climate change is clearly an important global issue, but we are tackling it very badly and our overwhelming focus on reducing carbon emissions also distracts us from many of the world's most pressing problems. What makes it so hard to cut emissions is that CO2 is a byproduct of prosperous economies, and replacing cheap fossil fuels with today's mostly expensive and unreliable green alternatives remains incredibly expensive. An analysis for the government of New Zealand recently showed that achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 would cost the nation 16% of GDP.