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Weeks before thermobaric rockets rained down on Ukraine, the chattering classes at the World Economic Forum declared “climate action failure” the biggest global risk for the coming decade. On the eve of war, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry fretted about the “massive emissions consequences” of Russian invasion and worried that the world might forget about the risks of climate change if fighting broke out. Amid the conflict and the many other challenges facing the globe right now, like inflation and food price hikes, the global elite has an unhealthy obsession with climate change.
Lomborg writes in The Wall Street Journal (also available here) and The Australian that Russia’s invasion should be a wake-up call. There are many serious threats in the world today, but most won’t get the attention they deserve until the political classes drop their hyperbole about climate change.
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 Despite a large number of major problems facing the planet — including war, disease, hunger and poverty — major aid organizations have become increasingly focused on climate solutions instead. Alarmingly, despite the extraordinary focus, we’re failing even to solve climate change itself. Last year saw the largest CO₂ emissions ever.
The world has many challenges, not just the ones that get the most media attention. Climate should be tackled more effectively by funding R&D in green energy sources so they eventually outcompete fossil fuels. We need to confront authoritarian expansionism in Ukraine and elsewhere. And to ensure long-term prosperity, the world needs more and cheaper energy, better education and more innovation. We need our perspective back to overcome the elitist hyperbole on climate change.
Lomborg's new column is being syndicated with newspapers around the world. So far, it has been published in Financial Post (Canada), Tempi (Italy), Telegraaf (Netherlands), Berlingske (Denmark), El Tiempo (Colombia), Perfil (Argentina), Los Tiempos (Bolivia), El Universo (Ecuador), Business Day (South Africa) along with many newspapers across the US (e.g. Detroit News, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Daily Local News, The Telegraph and The Mercury).
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The war on Ukraine has highlighted the need to end reliance on Russian oil and gas. To achieve that ambition, we must be pragmatic and invest in sensible alternatives. Russia's invasion has exploded the narrative that renewables can give us energy independence and revealed it as nothing more than wishful thinking—especially for the European Union.
To achieve reliable power 24/7, solar and wind need backup provided by gas. Thus, the EU’s green energy policy contributes to it paying Russia more than half a billion dollars each day. This has to stop.
European leaders should look into a technology they've rejected in the past because of exaggerated fears, spread with financial help from Russia.
Lomborg's column was published in newspapers around the world, including The Dallas Morning News (USA), The Herald (UK), El Espanol (Spain), Financial Post (Canada), The Australian, O Globo (Brazil), Svenska Dagbladet (Sweden), Jyllands-Posten (Denmark), Milenio (Mexico), Perfil (Argentina), El Heraldo (Honduras), Los Tiempos (Bolivia), La Prensa (Nicaragua), CRHoy (Costa Rica), El Pais (Uruguay), Postimees (Estonia), Finmag (Czech Republic), The Jakarta Post (Indonesia), Business Day (South Africa), Addis Fortune (Ethiopia), The Punch (Nigeria), Tempi (Italy) and Portfolio (Hungary).
He also discussed reducing our reliance on Russian oil and gas in multiple interviews, including the The Roy Green Show on Canadian radio, the Matters Of Policy & Politics podcast, America Reports, Fox and Friends, The John and Ken Show and Chicago's Morning Answer.
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 Bjorn Lomborg's bestselling book False Alarm* is now available in more than a dozen languages.
Yesterday, the Finnish translation was released at an event in Helsinki. Lomborg addressed the audience with a 20-minute-long video interview about the contents of the book.
Other recently published translations include Spanish, German, and Hungarian.
*As an Amazon Associate Copenhagen Consensus earns from qualifying purchases.
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