Sorry, banning plastic bags won’t save our planet

For this Earth Day it is especially important we focus on the world's top priorities. In September, all 193 governments will meet at the UN to set targets for the world for the next 15 years in what is explicitly labeled "Sustainable Development Goals." So, it is worth looking at what we should do first. At my think tank, the Copenhagen Consensus, we've asked 60 teams of top economists including several Nobel laureates to evaluate the economic, social and environmental costs and benefits of the targets, so we can pick the best ones. Here is what we should do in environment.

A Changed Climate Skeptic? Bjorn Lomborg has long infuriated environmental activists with his contrarian views on global warming. Has he now embraced their cause? INTERVIEW BY ELIZABETH DICKINSON | SEPTEMBER 3, 2010 It seemed too sensational to be true. On Aug. 30, the Guardian reported that one of the world's most prominent "climate change skeptics," Bjorn Lomborg, had made an apparent about face, now calling for $100 billion to be devoted to stopping global warming. (...) 

Last week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced a plan to reduce plastic pollution, which will include a ban on single-use plastics as early as 2021. This is laudable: plastics clog drains and cause floods, litter nature and kill animals and birds.

Of course, plastic also makes our lives better in a myriad of ways. In just four decades, plastic packaging has become ubiquitous because it keeps everything from cereals to juice fresher and reduces transportation losses, while one-use plastics in the medical sector have made syringes, pill bottles and diagnostic equipment safer.