Smart hurricane fixes are not climate fixes

Commentators were quick to blame hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria on climate change. In reality, the science is clear but also nuanced: Climate change will worsen some extreme weather events, and it will mitigate others.

Lomborg argues in USA Today that effectively tackling hurricane damage in rich countries is almost exclusively about reducing vulnerability through better infrastructure, not carbon cuts.
He also discussed hurricanes and smart solutions in a radio interview with Chicago's Morning Answer.

Don’t link climate change to increasing costs of disasters

The recent floods in South Asia showed once again that the poorer a community, the bigger the damage from natural disasters. This means that efforts to reduce poverty are also an “anti-flooding” measure in themselves.

As Lomborg explains in Hindustan Times, flood death rates are declining, because less poverty is making people less vulnerable. Going forward, policies reducing poverty are the most effective way of building resilience.

Empowering girls

The effects of practices like female genital mutilation and child marriage on women's health and wellbeing – and that of their children – are no mystery. What is not so well understood is which measures do the most to reduce the prevalence of such practices. Copenhagen Consensus research shines a light on empowering women and girls in the developing world, and offers solutions to female genital mutilation, child marriages, girl's education, and access to family planning.

Read Bjorn Lomborg's new column for Project Syndicate in nine languages. It was published by newspapers around the world, including Shanghai Daily (China), New Vision (Uganda) and La Nacion (Costa Rica).

The climate change distraction

A pattern has emerged to blame many of the world's problems on global warming. Recently, UNICEF’s Bangladesh head of mission even claimed climate change is causing more child marriages in Bangladesh. We also hear frequently that in order to tackle malaria we need to commit to substantial carbon cuts.

Lomborg argues in Wall Street Journal that while global warming is a real problem, climate policies offer ineffective solutions to challenges like child marriages and malaria, and these could lead resources away from much better policy responses.

"The economist caught between climate deniers and alarmists"

Bjorn Lomborg recently joined WNYC's flagship radio program The Takeaway for an interview, in which he argued that it is true that world leaders cannot ignore climate change, but we cannot afford to squander precious resources on ineffective solutions.

Moreover, aid money should not be diverted to climate projects, as it could be spent on better interventions that do the most social good. The interview was broadcast to 2 million listeners on 280 stations across the U.S.

Why American overseas aid should focus on SDGs

The average American believes the US spends a whopping third of its budget on foreign aid. The correct number is just one percent. Yet, President Trump has proposed deep cuts to foreign aid in his 2018 budget request.

In a globally syndicated article for the Inter Press Service, Bjorn Lomborg argues that spending just one percent of the budget on aid seems a sensible investment, especially if we prioritize those targets that achieve the biggest bang-for-the-buck.

Sharing research for smarter policies with Bangladeshi Prime Minister

Bjorn Lomorg recently shared the success of the Bangladesh Priorities project with the Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and many other heads of state and distinguished guests at a side event of the United Nations General Assembly.

He presented the Prime Minister with the 1,241 pages of benefit-cost research in two volumes, just published in Bangladesh, and also informed her about a new phase of the project, which we are calling Bangladesh Priorities 2.0. Here we will focus on helping implement some of the top priorities recommended for Bangladesh by our Eminent Panel, after assessing the social, economic and environmental benefits and costs of the 72 researched policy suggestions.

Distinguished Scholar Award for Haiti Priorise research

The Haiti Priorise cost-benefit analysis on power sector reform in Haiti just received the Distinguished Scholar Award from the International Confederation of Energy Regulators (ICER) and Senior Economist Juan Belt will be presenting it in Mexico in March 2018 at the World Forum on Energy Regulation.  The paper was voted winner among dozens of submissions. This is a strong validation of the selection made by the Haiti Priorise Eminent Panel. Congratulation to authors Juan Belt, Bahman Kashi, Jay Mackinnon and Nicolas Allien!

In addition, Juan Belt has been appointed Senior Associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a globally top-ranked think tank.