{"id":421119,"date":"2026-01-12T19:32:56","date_gmt":"2026-01-12T18:32:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421119"},"modified":"2026-01-12T22:38:19","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T21:38:19","slug":"climate-change-economics-skip-the-hysteria-lomborg","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=421119","title":{"rendered":"Climate Change Economics, Skip the Hysteria\u00a0(Lomborg)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"723\" data-attachment-id=\"421140\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421140\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1280,1280\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?fit=723%2C723&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=723%2C723&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A group of six men, depicted in a comic book style, stand in a flooded urban area with buildings in the background. They are shouting and holding a sign that reads 'The end is nigh!' Lightning strikes above, and flames are visible in the background.\" class=\"wp-image-421140\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=1024%2C1024&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=768%2C768&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=640%2C640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=1200%2C1200&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=800%2C800&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=600%2C600&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=400%2C400&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=450%2C450&amp;ssl=1 450w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?resize=550%2C550&amp;ssl=1 550w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?w=1280&amp;ssl=1 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">From <a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/2026\/01\/10\/climate-change-economics-skip-the-hysteria-lomborg\/\">Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rclutz.com\/author\/ronaldrc\/\">Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"723\" height=\"407\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/fqpPWOMEqTs?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For those who prefer reading, below is an excerpted transcript lightly edited from the interview, including my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hey everyone, it\u2019s Andrew Klavan with this week\u2019s interview with\u00a0<strong>Bjorn Lomborg<\/strong>. \u00a0I met Bjorn, he probably doesn\u2019t remember this, but I met him many, many years ago at Andrew Breitbart\u2019s house.\u00a0 \u00a0Andrew brought Bjorn over to<strong>\u00a0talk in LA,<\/strong>\u00a0and I listened to him talking\u00a0<strong>about all the simple and inexpensive things that could be done to make actual change and do actual good<\/strong>\u00a0in terms of climate change, which I think at that point was still global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And you know, we had a small audience, and I asked &nbsp;the question, well, if these are so such smart, cheap ideas,&nbsp;<strong>why don\u2019t politicians do them?<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;And Bjorn said, well,&nbsp;<strong>because that wouldn\u2019t give them &nbsp;the chance to display their virtue.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;And I thought, here\u2019s a man who not only knows about science, but actually knows about human &nbsp;nature. &nbsp;And I\u2019ve been following him ever since.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He is a\u00a0<strong>president of the Copenhagen Consensus Center,<\/strong>\u00a0a visiting fellow at Stanford University\u2019s Hoover Institution, an author of False Alarm and Best Things First, the best writer, I think, on climate issues and other issues. \u00a0Bjorn, it\u2019s good to see you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Andrew, it\u2019s great to be here. &nbsp;And I do remember that event, although I remember it for seeing the guy who played on Airplane. &nbsp;Sorry. So I remember that because it was it\u2019s still one of my favorite movies. It\u2019s one of the greatest movies ever made, I think. &nbsp;It really is very, very funny. &nbsp;Yeah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On a totally different direction. &nbsp;So I was watching with great approval<strong>&nbsp;Donald Trump\u2019s appearance at the United Nations.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;I guess it would be when we\u2019re playing this last week. &nbsp;And he he had this. &nbsp;I\u2019m just going to read just a little bit of the speech.&nbsp; He said&nbsp;<strong>in the 1920s and the 1930s, they said global cooling will kill &nbsp;the world. &nbsp;We have to do something.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;<strong>Then<\/strong>&nbsp;they said&nbsp;<strong>global warming will kill the world<\/strong>. &nbsp;But then it started getting cooler. &nbsp;&nbsp;So now they could just&nbsp;<strong>call it climate change<\/strong>&nbsp;because that way they can\u2019t miss if it goes &nbsp;higher or lower, whatever the hell happens. &nbsp;It\u2019s climate change. It\u2019s<strong>&nbsp;the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world,<\/strong>&nbsp;in my opinion. &nbsp;&nbsp;Do you agree with that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>So I get where he\u2019s coming from<\/strong>. \u00a0And I think there\u2019s some some truth to this. \u00a0I mean, Donald Trump always speaks in larger than real life words. \u00a0\u00a0Yes. So,<strong>\u00a0it\u2019s not a con job. \u00a0There is a problem.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0And actually, in some sense, bizarrely, as it may sound, you know, the world is built all of<strong>\u00a0our infrastructure is built to live at the temperature that we\u2019ve had<\/strong>\u00a0for the last hundred or two hundred years. \u00a0That\u2019s true in Los Angeles. \u00a0That\u2019s true in Boston. \u00a0It\u2019s true everywhere in the world. \u00a0And so,<strong>\u00a0if it gets colder or if it gets warmer, that will be a problem. \u00a0So, there is an issue here.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"642\" height=\"652\" data-attachment-id=\"421123\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421123\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?fit=642%2C652&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"642,652\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?fit=642%2C652&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?resize=642%2C652&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A comedic infographic detailing a timeline of failed climate change predictions from the 1960s to the 2010s, featuring exaggerated claims like 'mass extinction' and 'world will end in 12 years,' accompanied by illustrations of people reacting.\" class=\"wp-image-421123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?w=642&amp;ssl=1 642w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?resize=295%2C300&amp;ssl=1 295w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?resize=640%2C650&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-201.png?resize=60%2C60&amp;ssl=1 60w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>But obviously, it\u2019s vastly exaggerated when people then talk about the end of the world.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;You may remember that this was one of the favorite terms of Biden, but<strong>&nbsp;not just Biden, &nbsp;but pretty much everyone for the last four years and certainly more<\/strong>&nbsp;as well. &nbsp;That this is an existential crisis. &nbsp;&nbsp;There was a recent&nbsp;<strong>survey by the OECD<\/strong>, so&nbsp;<strong>in all rich countries<\/strong>&nbsp;in the world, where &nbsp;they found that percent of all&nbsp;<strong>people<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>believe<\/strong>&nbsp;that&nbsp;<strong>unmitigated climate change,<\/strong>&nbsp;so &nbsp;climate change we don\u2019t fix, will likely or very<strong>&nbsp;likely lead to the end of mankind.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;And that, of course, is a very different statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>There is a problem, that\u2019s true. &nbsp;It\u2019s not the end of the world. &nbsp;<\/strong><br><strong>But the end of the world is a great way to get funding.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And that\u2019s why people are playing it out. \u00a0But\u00a0<strong>it doesn\u2019t make for good policy.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Remember, if you think the end of the world is near, you\u2019re going to\u00a0<strong>throw everything in the kitchen sink at this,<\/strong>\u00a0which, of course, is what the campaigners would like you to do. But you will probably\u00a0<strong>waste an incredible amount of resources because you\u2019re just going to try everything.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"626\" height=\"437\" data-attachment-id=\"421126\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421126\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-203.png?fit=626%2C437&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"626,437\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-203.png?fit=626%2C437&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-203.png?resize=626%2C437&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Cartoon depicting two men on a bridge discussing a sign that reads 'EARTH WILL be UN-INHABITABLE in X YEARS'. One man, pointing to the sign, appears confused while the other holds various protest signs about climate change.\" class=\"wp-image-421126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-203.png?w=626&amp;ssl=1 626w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-203.png?resize=300%2C209&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 626px) 100vw, 626px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Climate change is a problem.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;So I disagree with Trump there. &nbsp;But yes, there is&nbsp;<strong>an incredible amount of exaggeration<\/strong>. &nbsp;And I agree with him there. &nbsp;So there\u2019s I mean, the climate changes but we\u2019re not living in a glass bubble.&nbsp; And we\u2019ve even in I don\u2019t know, I guess it was the late 19th century, the Thames in &nbsp;London froze over and people went skating on it. &nbsp;It\u2019s so there are&nbsp;<strong>these big changes and there have been ice ages, obviously.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;How much of this or do we know&nbsp;<strong>how much<\/strong>&nbsp;of this is is&nbsp;<strong>caused by human beings? &nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have to preface this with saying<strong>&nbsp;I\u2019m a social scientist<\/strong>, so&nbsp;<strong>I work a lot on &nbsp;the costs and the benefits of us doing policies against climate change.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;I\u2019ve met with a lot of the&nbsp;<strong>natural scientists<\/strong>&nbsp;who study all this. &nbsp;Please don\u2019t do this at home, but I\u2019ve read the&nbsp;<strong>UN climate panel report,<\/strong>&nbsp;most of the pages, not all of them.&nbsp; And it\u2019s incredibly boring, but it\u2019s also very, very informative. &nbsp;So so I have a reasonably good take on this. And what&nbsp;<strong>they tell us<\/strong>&nbsp;is that the&nbsp;<strong>majority of the recent warming<\/strong>&nbsp;that we\u2019ve seen is due to climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I have no idea to evaluate that,&nbsp;<strong>no way of independently evaluating<\/strong>&nbsp;that is due to &nbsp;natural climate change or is manmade, due to mankind. &nbsp;So is it mostly due to us emitting CO from burning fossil fuels?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So there is a significant part of&nbsp;<strong>what\u2019s changed over the last century<\/strong>&nbsp;or &nbsp;thereabouts, which is about&nbsp;<strong>two degrees Fahrenheit or one degree Celsius<\/strong>. So that\u2019s something and that\u2019s something we should look at. &nbsp;But also, we should get a sense of&nbsp;<strong>what\u2019s the total impact of this<\/strong>. &nbsp;Well, actually,<strong>&nbsp;climate economics<\/strong>&nbsp;have spent the last three decades&nbsp;<strong>trying to estimate: &nbsp;what\u2019s the total cost of everything that happens with climate change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, you know, there are lots of negatives. \u00a0There\u2019ll be more heat waves. \u00a0There\u2019ll possibly be stronger storms. \u00a0There\u2019s also going to be fewer cold waves, which is actually a good thing. \u00a0There\u2019s also going to be CO2 fertilization. \u00a0So, we\u2019ll have more greenery. You know, if you add\u00a0<strong>all the negatives and all the positives,<\/strong>\u00a0it becomes a net negative. \u00a0That\u2019s why it\u2019s a problem. \u00a0But also get a sense of this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you look across all of the studies that we\u2019ve done,&nbsp;<strong>we estimate the net negative &nbsp;impact today is about 0.3% of GDP<\/strong>. &nbsp;So yeah, a problem, not the end of the world. &nbsp;And it\u2019s crucial to say, if you look out till 2100 which is sort of the standard &nbsp;time frame, which is a long time from now, we estimate<strong>&nbsp;if we do nothing<\/strong>&nbsp;more about &nbsp;climate change, so we end up with&nbsp;<strong>three degrees Celsius<\/strong>, so about degrees 5.6 Fahrenheit, then the&nbsp;<strong>cost will be about to 2 to 3% of global GDP every year<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">That\u2019s certainly not nothing. &nbsp;That\u2019s a lot of trillions of dollars. &nbsp;But again,<strong>&nbsp;it\u2019s 2 to 3%. It\u2019s not, you know, the end of mankind,<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;It\u2019s not anywhere near a hundred percent. &nbsp;And this is not me&nbsp;<strong>saying this.<\/strong>&nbsp;This is the guy&nbsp;<strong>William Nordhaus<\/strong>&nbsp;from Yale university, the only guy to get the &nbsp;Nobel prize in climate economics. &nbsp;And&nbsp;<strong>Richard Tol<\/strong>&nbsp;one of the most quoted climate economists in the world. &nbsp;They\u2019ve done separate studies. One to find 2%, the other one to find 3%. &nbsp;That\u2019s the order of magnitude we\u2019re talking about. &nbsp;And just for, for added emphasis,<strong>&nbsp;remember by then everyone in the world &nbsp;will be much, much better off.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Just like&nbsp;<strong>if you compared people from back in 1925 and until today<\/strong>, the UN on its standard<strong>&nbsp;trajectory<\/strong>&nbsp;estimate, the<strong>&nbsp;average person<\/strong>&nbsp;in the world by the<strong>&nbsp;end of the century<\/strong>&nbsp;will be somewhere around&nbsp;<strong>450% as rich<\/strong>&nbsp;as he or &nbsp;she is today. &nbsp;That\u2019s not the US that will. &nbsp;And you know, people come from&nbsp;<strong>Denmark and other rich countries might only be 200%<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;as rich, but many in&nbsp;<strong>Africa and elsewhere<\/strong>&nbsp;will be&nbsp;<strong>a thousand percent &nbsp;richer<\/strong>. &nbsp;So on average,&nbsp;<strong>because of climate change<\/strong>, it will feel like they\u2019re&nbsp;<strong>only 435% as rich,<\/strong>&nbsp;which sort of emphasizes, yes, that\u2019s a problem. &nbsp;I would rather have a world that\u2019s 450% as rich trather than one that\u2019s 435%. &nbsp;But it\u2019s&nbsp;<strong>not the end of the world.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s still a fantastically much better world,&nbsp;<strong>just a slightly less &nbsp;fantastically much better world.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;And that less money that people will have will mean less money you have to spend, what, shoring up buildings. &nbsp;And so the way they measure that is actually in equivalence of how much you would need to get compensated to live with the problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So we don\u2019t actually look at whether people will fix it or not. &nbsp;You know, it\u2019s a bit like, if you have a slightly dangerous job, you get more money. And that\u2019s basically a way of saying, but you\u2019ll also have to live with that constant slightly higher risk of dying. &nbsp;Right.&nbsp; So we\u2019re compensating you for that. &nbsp;That\u2019s the, that\u2019s the amount that we\u2019re talking about.&nbsp; So it\u2019ll feel like you\u2019re only % as rich, although&nbsp;<strong>you\u2019ll probably<\/strong>&nbsp;in reality, get all that, that slight extra money to&nbsp;<strong>get up to 450%, but then you will also have to live with some problems from climate change.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This week I was arguing with a\u00a0<strong>socialist<\/strong>, lovely guy, but just the guy who\u00a0<strong>believes that like all money should be redistributed.<\/strong>\u00a0 And I was pointing out that this was giving a lot of power to the people in power. \u00a0And one of the things\u00a0<strong>I sent him was this article you wrote<\/strong>\u00a0in the, in the New York Post, which was exactly the kind of article that makes me angry. \u00a0And I mean, it makes me frustrated with our politics. I want to read just a couple of sentences. \u00a0Last year, the world spent over $2 trillion on climate policies. \u00a0This is Bjorn Lomberg writing in the New York Post. \u00a0By 2050 net zero carbon emissions will cost an impossible $27 trillion every year.\u00a0 So, this,\u00a0<strong>this will choke growth, spike energy costs and hit the poor hardest and still will deliver only 17 cents back on every dollar spent.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0Meanwhile,\u00a0<strong>mere billions of dollars could save millions of lives.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0I\u2019d like to take this apart a little bit, but to begin with all the stuff that we are spending this money on, is it doing anything? \u00a0Will it have any effect?<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"456\" data-attachment-id=\"421128\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421128\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?fit=736%2C464&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"736,464\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?fit=723%2C456&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?resize=723%2C456&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A graph illustrating projected financial investments related to climate change, showing three bars representing $85 trillion, $98 trillion, and $131 trillion, with accompanying labels for investment required by 2050, previously estimated investment, and global economic output in 2020.\" class=\"wp-image-421128\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?w=736&amp;ssl=1 736w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?resize=300%2C189&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-205.png?resize=640%2C403&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It will. \u00a0I mean, what, what are we spending money on and what will it do? \u00a0So, these\u00a0<strong>$2 trillion<\/strong>, that\u2019s sort of the official number from the International Energy Agency and many others. It\u2019s a very<strong>\u00a0soft number<\/strong>\u00a0because obviously what goes into all this money, surprisingly,<strong>\u00a0it\u2019s also all the cost into EVs<\/strong>\u00a0or electric cars, which of course gives you a thing that can drive you from place A to B, at least if it\u2019s been charged. \u00a0So, I mean, there are\u00a0<strong>some benefits<\/strong>\u00a0to this. \u00a0It\u2019s\u00a0<strong>also spending on solar panels and wind turbines,<\/strong>\u00a0which again, obviously gives you electricity when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. It actually also gives you higher electricity costs all the other times, because you now need to have backup power for when it\u2019s not shining or windy, and that capital is being used less.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, there\u2019s a lot of spending, it\u2019s a very big\u00a0<strong>headline number.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s $2 trillion, everyone uses it, but it, but it\u2019s\u00a0<strong>not all that informative, beca<\/strong>use the<strong>\u00a0global economy is about a hundred trillion dollars<\/strong>. \u00a0It means we\u2019re\u00a0<strong>spending 2% on stuff that we probably wouldn\u2019t have<\/strong>\u00a0done had we not been scared witless on climate change. \u00a0And that\u2019s a\u00a0<strong>waste<\/strong>. \u00a0I mean, remember\u00a0<strong>the total spend on healthcare is perhaps 8%<\/strong>. \u00a0The total spend on<strong>\u00a0education globally is about 5%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"474\" data-attachment-id=\"421131\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421131\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?fit=745%2C488&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"745,488\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?fit=723%2C474&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?resize=723%2C474&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A cartoon depicting a wrecking ball on a crane about to smash a pile of garbage with a sign that says 'WORLD ECONOMY' on it, while a worker asks, 'All Right, Is That Zero Emissions Yet?'\" class=\"wp-image-421131\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?w=745&amp;ssl=1 745w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?resize=300%2C197&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-207.png?resize=640%2C419&amp;ssl=1 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These are big numbers. &nbsp;This is something that could have done a lot of good elsewhere. &nbsp;But I think the&nbsp;<strong>real point<\/strong>&nbsp;here is to say&nbsp;<strong>people want to take us to a cost &nbsp;that\u2019s much, much, much higher.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Remember all the world\u2019s governments, almost all the world\u2019s government now, &nbsp;not Donald Trump and the US, but most&nbsp;<strong>governments have pledged<\/strong>&nbsp;in one form &nbsp;or another that we\u2019re going<strong>&nbsp;to go net zero around 2050 or shortly thereafter.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;But&nbsp;<strong>nobody looked at<\/strong>&nbsp;what the&nbsp;<strong>cost<\/strong>&nbsp;of this will be, which is a little surprising. Because the numbers I\u2019m going to show you suggest &nbsp;that<strong>&nbsp;this one single promise is about a thousand times more expensive than the second costliest policy<\/strong>&nbsp;to which the world has ever committed, which was the&nbsp;<strong>Versailles &nbsp;treaty<\/strong>&nbsp;back in 1919, had Germany actually paid all the money it was supposed to. That cost was about<strong>&nbsp;half a trillion dollars<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;in today\u2019s money, which of course is why&nbsp;<strong>Germany never paid it.<\/strong>&nbsp;<strong>&nbsp;But now we\u2019re talking about something<\/strong>&nbsp;that is going to be in the &nbsp;order of&nbsp;<strong>a thousand to two to 3000 times more costly.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Yet nobody\u2019s looked at what the cost will be and what will be the benefits?<br>There\u2019s no official estimate of this.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So two years ago, a professor from Yale university, Robert Mendelsohn, gathered a lot of really smart climate economists to&nbsp;<strong>try to estimate what\u2019s the cost, and what\u2019s the benefit of net zero<\/strong>. &nbsp;A lot of those really, really smart economists ended up chickening out. &nbsp;You can understand why it\u2019s a really hard question. &nbsp;You\u2019re also asking&nbsp;<strong>what will happen in the next hundred years<\/strong>&nbsp;and you\u2019re&nbsp;<strong>trying to put estimates on it.<\/strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;At the end of the day, they published a&nbsp;<strong>big study<\/strong>&nbsp;published in the journal of climate change economics, which is a period article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And they had\u00a0<strong>one benefit estimate and three cost estimates.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0So, this is obviously not great, but it\u2019s the only thing the world has. \u00a0And so that gives you a sense of how much this cost will and how much good will do. \u00a0If you take the\u00a0<strong>average<\/strong>\u00a0of these three<strong>\u00a0cost estimates,<\/strong>\u00a0that gives you<strong>\u00a0$27 trillion in cost per year throughout the 21st century. \u00a0<\/strong>That\u2019s where that number comes from. \u00a0$27 trillion. \u00a0So that\u2019s about\u00a0<strong>a quarter of global GDP right now<\/strong>, because we\u2019re going to be much richer, that is only going to be about\u00a0<strong>7% of global GDP across the 21st century.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0But you know, that\u2019s an enormous cost that\u2019s on the magnitude of bigger than education, a bit smaller than healthcare and for everyone in the world, that\u2019s\u00a0<strong>a lot of money.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Now, if this gave you a lot of benefits that might be worthwhile. \u00a0I mean, we pay a lot of money for stuff that\u2019s good, but we\u2019ve already established that even\u00a0<strong>if we could entirely get rid of climate change, it would only reduce costs by two to 3%<\/strong>. \u00a0So, spending 7% to get rid of two to 3% is a bad deal, but unfortunately net zero by 2050 means we\u2019ll only get rid of part of it, right? \u00a0Because we\u2019ll already have cost a lot of climate change. \u00a0So, the net benefit is only about<strong>\u00a01% of GDP across the century or about four and a half trillion dollars.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, there\u2019s a real benefit. \u00a0That\u2019s why climate change is real. \u00a0There\u2019s a real benefit to net zero, but\u00a0<strong>the benefit is much, much lower than the cost.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0So,<strong>\u00a0$4.5 trillion in benefits, $27 trillion in cost every year in<\/strong> the 21st century, we\u2019ll be paying much, much more than the benefits will generate for the world. \u00a0That\u2019s just\u00a0<strong>a bad deal.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0There\u2019s no other way to put it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And the fact that we\u2019re not honest about this and that\u00a0<strong>most people just are not honest about it<\/strong>\u00a0is one of the reasons<strong>\u00a0why we\u2019re wasting money and spending it so badly. \u00a0<\/strong>The last bit of the quote that you just said was we could do so many other good things. \u00a0Remember,\u00a0<strong>most people in the world are not living in nice countries<\/strong>\u00a0like the US or Denmark. Most people are not considering, you know, the biggest problem which of the many programs and series they want to follow are, am I going to take first or watch first? \u00a0Or, you know, what kind of takeout am I going to have? \u00a0<strong>They worry about their kids<\/strong>\u00a0dying from easily curable infectious diseases, not having enough food, having terrible education, not enough jobs, corruption, all these other things. \u00a0And the truth is\u00a0<strong>we could solve many of these problems,<\/strong>\u00a0not all of them, but many of them to<strong>\u00a0save millions of lives at a fraction, a tiny, tiny fraction of this cost<\/strong>. \u00a0So instead of talking trillions,\u00a0<strong>we\u2019re talking billions.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Why is it that we\u2019re so&nbsp;<strong>obsessed with spending trillions to do almost no good a &nbsp;hundred years from now,<\/strong>&nbsp;instead of spending billions and doing a lot of good right &nbsp;now to avoid people dying from tuberculosis and malaria, avoid &nbsp;people having terrible education, getting better economies, all these things &nbsp;that we know work at much lower cost. &nbsp;That\u2019s my central question to all these feel gooders. &nbsp;I mean, I know that they want to feel good about themselves, but in some sense,&nbsp;<strong>I &nbsp;would like to believe that they actually want to have done good at the end of the day.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I think it\u2019s much more a question of saying, if I am doing effective policies, there\u2019s not much money to hand out to friends and to buy more votes and all that kind of stuff. \u00a0Whereas if I am overseeing, you know, an enormous amount of spending on stuff that doesn\u2019t really matter. \u00a0So, I can just spend it on whatever. \u00a0Then clearly, I have a lot more latitude and a lot more opportunity to get people to like me and to show what a good person I am. \u00a0So, I think\u00a0<strong>in some sense, it\u2019s just plain politics.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0You know, if you\u2019re saying the world is on fire and you\u2019re at risk. \u00a0But vote for me and I can save your kids. \u00a0And it\u2019s only going to cost you 7%. \u00a0I can see, you know, why people want to vote for that. \u00a0But<strong>\u00a0if you\u2019re saying, look, things are fine and just give me a little bit of money and I\u2019ll fix the rest of the problems<\/strong>.\u00a0 It doesn\u2019t quite have the same ring to it, does it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"723\" height=\"325\" data-attachment-id=\"421133\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421133\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?fit=1551%2C696&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"1551,696\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?fit=723%2C325&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=723%2C325&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A portrait of a man with a beard and short hair, in a dark suit, standing against a colorful abstract background. The image includes a quote about the immoral treatment of the Developing World and its impact on the younger generation.\" class=\"wp-image-421133\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=1024%2C460&amp;ssl=1 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=300%2C135&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=768%2C345&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=1536%2C689&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=640%2C287&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?resize=1200%2C538&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?w=1551&amp;ssl=1 1551w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-208.png?w=1446&amp;ssl=1 1446w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 723px) 100vw, 723px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So, so if, if we were to get to net zero,\u00a0<strong>wouldn\u2019t that cripple poor countries?<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0I mean, in other words, it seems to me that people who burn the most fossil fuels are the people who are building up most and the people who are developing most. \u00a0Whereas we\u2019re sort of, we\u2019ve sort of leveled off, haven\u2019t we?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Yes. \u00a0So, the truth about the<strong>\u00a0$27 trillion<\/strong>\u00a0is that this<strong>\u00a0is an, sort<\/strong> of assuming that we\u2019re going to be smart. \u00a0But I don\u2019t know what the climate future is going to look like. \u00a0I don\u2019t think anyone really knows, but we have a good sense that we\u2019re good at, you know, innovating stuff. \u00a0And we know how to get CO2 free energy. \u00a0We can do it with nuclear. \u00a0We also know we can get some from solar and wind. \u00a0We\u2019ll probably have more batteries. \u00a0We\u2019ll have lots of things. \u00a0I think the world was sort of, you know, stumble through and we\u2019ll be okay. \u00a0But the point is we could have been much, much better off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Does that affect your sense of politics at all? \u00a0Oh, of course it does. \u00a0And I\u2019m\u00a0<strong>disappointed that half the world would tend to dismiss a lot of this because these are inconvenient facts,<\/strong>\u00a0with that said though I also talk about all the incredibly important things we could do in the poor part of the world. This is not true for most of the world, this is a very Western, kind of rich world situation where we have this\u00a0<strong>very clear distinction between right and left. \u00a0<\/strong>And, and a lot on the left, I think have sort of gone off on the deep end on some of these things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For instance, on<strong>\u00a0climate change<\/strong>, which has become this\u00a0<strong>identifying totem, that they worship,<\/strong>\u00a0and not in a smart way. \u00a0Remember a lot of standard left-wing belief was about helping the downtrodden, which I perfectly agree with. \u00a0And I think a lot of people would agree,\u00a0<strong>we need to get poor people out of poverty.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0That\u2019s a terrible situation and it destroys human dignity and liberty and all kinds of things. \u00a0We should absolutely do something about that. \u00a0But the truth is that\u2019s where, you know, seven eighths of the world\u2019s population is because they know poverty and they want to get out of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although when you go to these events in New York and, and elsewhere, even<strong>\u00a0politicians from Africa and elsewhere,<\/strong>\u00a0they\u2019ll of course say all the platitudes that come along with getting some funding from rich Western nations. \u00a0But in the private cocktail conversations afterwards, you know, they don\u2019t look at Germany and the UK and say: oh yes, deindustrialization and incredibly high energy costs, that\u2019s what we want. No,<strong>\u00a0they look at China because they want to get rich like China did.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">And China of course got rich famously by dramatically increasing its energy consumption through coal. \u00a0At its lowest China\u2019s energy from renewables was 7.5%, and now it\u2019s up to about 11%. So, people think, oh China is this green giant, but no it\u2019s not. It gets t<strong>he vast majority of its energy from coal.<\/strong>\u00a0\u00a0And not surprisingly, because that has been historically the cheap opportunity to drive your economy and development.<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"810\" data-attachment-id=\"421136\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?attachment_id=421136\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-210.png?fit=640%2C810&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"640,810\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"image\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-210.png?fit=640%2C810&amp;ssl=1\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-210.png?resize=640%2C810&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"A chart detailing the number of coal plants worldwide, including the EU, Turkey, South Africa, India, Philippines, South Korea, Japan, China, and Australia, alongside their current and planned totals.\" class=\"wp-image-421136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-210.png?w=640&amp;ssl=1 640w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/image-210.png?resize=237%2C300&amp;ssl=1 237w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is a problem, that\u2019s true. \u00a0It\u2019s not the end of the world. \u00a0<br \/>\nBut the end of the world is a great way to get funding.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":421140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9jbGltYXRlLXNjaWVuY2UucHJlc3NcL3dwLWNvbnRlbnRcL3VwbG9hZHNcLzIwMjZcLzAxXC9BUU5NLVVRbUxSdDQ5ZnZWb2VXXzU3SzRyQnlnbm5NLXlZZUdMV3Q2Sjlfd0trS1ZfX3NGWVRqR0Y0UGxhWWhvSlc1aHo3VDdZZjBtOTNVS1JBd254WFg5NDZKUWZyTnR3R0txWmI1Y2ppejdIeGpEcFNZWTJkeXYwbHlNMzktM0p5U3FFY1lxeEFVNjctYlNIcXhjb25QdDVhTXo3QS5qcGVnP2ZpdD03MjMlMkM3MjMmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJDbGltYXRlIENoYW5nZSBFY29ub21pY3MsIFNraXAgdGhlIEh5c3RlcmlhXHUwMGEwKExvbWJvcmcpIiwidGVtcGxhdGUiOiJoaWdod2F5IiwiZm9udCI6IiIsImJsb2dfaWQiOjE1NTgxMjQ0OX0.IVlwB3SuEioPkF6-e5czFkAV-9-6SWrdjSwOlbBjDGUMQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818077,691818056,691840686,691820949,691840684,691840685,691820719,691818154],"class_list":{"0":"post-421119","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-bjorn-lomborg","9":"tag-climate-change","10":"tag-co2-free-energy","11":"tag-co2-fertilization","12":"tag-copenhagen-consensus-center","13":"tag-global-gdp","14":"tag-international-energy-agency","15":"tag-net-zero","17":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQNM-UQmLRt49fvVoeW_57K4rBygnnM-yYeGLWt6J9_wKkKV__sFYTjGF4PlaYhoJW5hz7T7Yf0m93UKRAwnxXX946JQfrNtwGKqZb5cjiz7HxjDpSYY2dyv0lyM39-3JySqEcYqxAU67-bSHqxconPt5aMz7A.jpeg?fit=1280%2C1280&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Lyf","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":331585,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=331585","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":0},"title":"Thanks for Publishing the Truth, New York Post, Climate Activists Don\u2019t Care If People Die","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/06\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The New York Post published an article by noted researcher Bjorn Lomborg, Ph.D., in which he argues climate activists not only don\u2019t care about people\u2019s well-being, they, in fact, support policies that result in unnecessary deaths. Lomborg is right.","rel":"","context":"In \"climate activists\"","block_context":{"text":"climate activists","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-activists"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00shen-fei-scene-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C638&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00shen-fei-scene-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C638&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00shen-fei-scene-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C638&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00shen-fei-scene-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C638&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/00shen-fei-scene-1.jpg?fit=1200%2C638&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":423689,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=423689","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":1},"title":"Bj\u00f8rn Lomborg is Wrong to Say Climate Change is a Problem to be Solved","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"29\/01\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"In a commentary article in the Financial Post on Tuesday, Bj\u00f8rn Lomborg argues that Net Zero is \u201con its way out\u201d, as politicians across the world face up to the high cost and tiny climate returns of raising energy prices. With voters \u201cweary of soaring energy bills and annoyed by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/AQM_4IEJDoTdmg7i9iPFkOWX1W2HgqOuEOZ5jwuTKd7LPsAg_cvVcw5t7PBqk-7FsvzYtCeZspWNl7Ugw9TGO2rU1Je_naaC0huyxobeGFUCraPvcPZfhlY2pXROL32tPK3Gbc4iVBYMd24SgwgIQz0cMQ8hNg.jpeg?fit=1200%2C1200&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":291404,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=291404","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":2},"title":"Bjorn Lomborg: Climate Change, Poverty, and How Governments WASTE Your Money","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/12\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Environmentalist Bjorn Lomborg says we waste money in the fight against climate change.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-15-132834.png?fit=992%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-15-132834.png?fit=992%2C567&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-15-132834.png?fit=992%2C567&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/0Screenshot-2023-12-15-132834.png?fit=992%2C567&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":308524,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=308524","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":3},"title":"Climate Model Bias 7: WGIII","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"15\/03\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"In other words, WGIII explicitly equates CO2\u00a0emissions, or the CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions, with dangerous global warming. We have seen that equating CO2\u00a0emissions with warming is a poorly supported assumption contained in an inaccurate climate model that runs hot compared to observations, not a fact.","rel":"","context":"In \"Climate change\"","block_context":{"text":"Climate change","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=climate-change"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00How-Covid-Resulted-in-Less-Carbon-Emissions.jpg?fit=1200%2C639&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00How-Covid-Resulted-in-Less-Carbon-Emissions.jpg?fit=1200%2C639&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00How-Covid-Resulted-in-Less-Carbon-Emissions.jpg?fit=1200%2C639&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00How-Covid-Resulted-in-Less-Carbon-Emissions.jpg?fit=1200%2C639&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/00How-Covid-Resulted-in-Less-Carbon-Emissions.jpg?fit=1200%2C639&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":364879,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=364879","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":4},"title":"Chris Wright: Guilty as Charged (DeSmog backfires again)","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/02\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"DeSmog\u2019s \u201cClimate Disinformation Database\u201d is so filled with quality and quantity that non-members are itching to join. The thousand or so should be doubled, tripled. Maybe a phone book will be necessary as the political winds shift from stale alarmism to CO2\/fossil fuel optimism.","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=carbon-dioxide-co%e2%82%82"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0eb91e1bd-96fd-40cc-a513-f1e594bc547f.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0eb91e1bd-96fd-40cc-a513-f1e594bc547f.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0eb91e1bd-96fd-40cc-a513-f1e594bc547f.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0eb91e1bd-96fd-40cc-a513-f1e594bc547f.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/0eb91e1bd-96fd-40cc-a513-f1e594bc547f.jpg?fit=1200%2C628&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":282350,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=282350","url_meta":{"origin":421119,"position":5},"title":"Environmentalist says &#8216;all&#8217; presidents, prime ministers will delay gas car bans","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"07\/10\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Fox Business Copenhagen Consensus President Bjorn Lomborg on Bill Gates claiming innovation will combat climate change, a carbon tax and U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak delaying the ban on gas cars until 2035. There are some smart climate solutions the world should definitely pursue. In an interview on Varney &\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bill Gates\"","block_context":{"text":"Bill Gates","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=bill-gates"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0Screenshot-2023-10-07-174249.png?fit=981%2C568&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0Screenshot-2023-10-07-174249.png?fit=981%2C568&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0Screenshot-2023-10-07-174249.png?fit=981%2C568&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/10\/0Screenshot-2023-10-07-174249.png?fit=981%2C568&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/121246920"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=421119"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":421142,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/421119\/revisions\/421142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/421140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=421119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=421119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=421119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}