Realtime with Bill Maher, Sept 21, 2007

The Telegraph, 19 Jun 2012

By Bjorn Lomborg Rio+20: Right sentiment, wrong problems, poor solutions

Improving energy efficiency is a fashionable policy that governments worldwide promote. On paper, it seems a no-brainer: improving energy efficiency is sold as cost-reducing, job-creating, and planet-saving. Win, win, win – and the media often help close the deal, focusing entirely on all the supposed upsides. But there is another side – a downside – to the story.

Bjorn Lomborg was asked if Russian President Putin was benefitting from Europe's green agenda. He explained that because the EU doesn't want coal or fracking, and its biggest economy Germany decided to phase out nuclear power, Europe has become very dependent on Russian gas, because wind and solar cannot provide reliable energy around the clock.