Tifón Haiyan y cambio climático: el enfoque equivocado

As COP 26 wrapped up, Bjorn Lomborg joined Alex Epstein to discuss the many examples of bad thinking that have shaped the conference, including:

- The false portrayal of today’s world as bad and getting worse.

- The failure to consider the costs of reducing CO2 emissions. - The failure to discuss the benefits human beings get from fossil fuels.

- The failure to consider any positive of CO2 emissions.

- The failure to appreciate the power of adapting to climate changes.

2014-01-16

PRAGUE – Read a newspaper or watch the evening news, and the world always seems to be getting worse. One problem after another is put under a spotlight. The more death, destruction, and despair, the better. As one Danish journalism textbook puts it: “A good story is usually bad news.” 

Only occasionally do we get uplifting, things-are-getting-better stories. When we do, they feel like a guilty pleasure. As a result, we often think that the world is in worse shape than it is – even if we think our own lives are improving.

“You’ll die of old age, I’ll die of climate change,” reads a typical poster held by teenagers in climate rallies across the world. The media, activists and even politicians are unabashedly indulging in climate alarmism, stoking the fears of millions.

Books on the impending implosion of civilization due to climate change line shelves in bookstores across the world. Media outlets have changed the name of climate change, calling it the “climate emergency” or even “climate breakdown.” The cover of Time magazine tells us: “Be worried. Be very worried.”