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Climate change means more extreme weather: This is a simple, powerful claim that has been pounded into our consciousness for a decade.

From Greenpeace to President Obama to Scientific American, scarcely a weather event happens without someone pointing the finger at global warming and calling for action.

But there are big problems with this simple statement, which are exposed starkly in recent peer-reviewed analysis in the journal Weather, Climate and Society by University of Manchester scientists Vladimir Jankovic and David M. Schultz.

The unexpected election of President Donald Trump has prompted diplomats and governments around the world to question what to expect from the next four years.

When it comes to climate change, many environmental campaigners are alarmed. This is understandable: Trump has sent mixed signals, and we have much to learn about the new administration’s plans. But there is cause for hope, and even a potential opportunity for India.

The election of Donald Trump and Republican majorities in both houses have terrified environmentalists and climate campaigners, who have declared that the next four years will be a “disaster.”

Fear is understandable. We have much to learn about the new administration’s plans. But perhaps surprisingly, what little we know offers some cause for hope.

Announced with much fanfare 11 months ago, the Paris Climate Treaty finally came into force earlier this month – just in time for the election of Donald Trump to potentially render the whole thing moot.

But there’s a bigger problem for climate campaigners than Trump. It’s that the Paris Treaty will in any case have very little effect on temperature change.

It promises to keep temperature rises below 2C. But there is no way any of the Paris promises will get anywhere close to achieving this.

Hunger has wracked humanity since time immemorial. Nearly every major society has been shaped by famine; one estimate suggests that China suffered drought or flood-induced starvation in at least one province almost every year from 108 BC to 1911. Yet the struggle against hunger is a battle that humanity could finally win.

Dr. Bjorn Lomborg speaks with Roy green about two of his recent articles - The Free-Trade Miracle and How Green Policies Hurt the Poor. Bjorn’s interview starts at the minute 35. 

Global free trade provides the greatest opportunity to improve human welfare over the next decade and a half. It has already helped lift more than a billion people out of poverty over the past quarter-century. Lowering trade barriers even more could double average incomes in the poorest parts of the world over the next 15 years.

Yes, there are costs to free trade that must be better addressed; but the costs are vastly outweighed by the benefits. Yet, in rich countries today, the mood has turned against free trade. That is a tragedy.

Dr. Bjorn Lomborg speaks with Adam Shand of 6PR Drive to discuss why it is so important to set smart development priorities and the myth around organic foods. 

The project 'Bangladesh Priorities' set out to have a conversation on what is best for Bangladesh. In that spirit, I welcome the commentary from Nick Beresford of UNDP Bangladesh on September 29. His concerns merit a considered response.