Right sentiment, wrong problems, poor solutions
The Telegraph, 19 Jun 2012
By Bjorn Lomborg Rio+20: Right sentiment, wrong problems, poor solutions
World leaders gathered in Rio for the Rio+20 Earth Summit are looking at the wrong problems, writes Bjorn Lomborg. It is great that world leaders are gathering in Rio de Janeiro for the United Nations’ ‘Rio+20’ Earth Summit. They definitely have the right sentiment, wanting to help the planet. Unfortunately, they will achieve little because they are focusing on poor solutions for the wrong problems. Ultimately, the summit is a missed opportunity to tackle the most important environmental issues. The UN and countless politicians have chosen to focus on trendy issues like global warming and a green economy instead of prosaic but much more important issues like air and water pollution. Little has been achieved since the first Earth Summit in 1992, and the Rio+20 negotiations illustrate that the status quo is likely to continue.(...)
