We need climate policies that work

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.

In an interview with CNBC, Bjorn Lomborg argues that it's easy for politicians to make big promises for political applause now, but as the consequences of expensive climate policies become apparent, opposition will be strong, as we have seen in France and other countries. Instead of the grand rhetoric, policy-makers need to focus on innovating the next generations of green technologies that will make them feasible and affordable for everyone.