Skip to main content

Bjørn Lomborg

Bjørn Lomborg

176 commentaries

Bjørn Lomborg, a visiting professor at the Copenhagen Business School, is Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center. His books include The Skeptical Environmentalist, Cool It, How to Spend $75 Billion to Make the World a Better Place, The Nobel Laureates' Guide to the Smartest Targets for the World, and, most recently, Prioritizing Development. In 2004, he was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people for his research on the smartest ways to help the world. 

Sort by: Show:
  1. Empty Gestures on Climate Change
    lomborg176_Maskot Getty Images_electriccarcharginghand Maskot/Getty Images

    Empty Gestures on Climate Change

    Dec 20, 2019 Bjørn Lomborg says environmental activists who urge people to change their daily behavior trivialize the challenge of global warming.

  2. Humans Can Survive Underwater
    lomborg175_Nicolas EconomouNurPhoto via Getty Images_netherlandswindmillriverbike Nicolas Economou/NurPhoto via Getty Images

    Humans Can Survive Underwater

    Nov 21, 2019 Bjørn Lomborg says alarming media stories about rising sea levels only encourage overly expensive climate policies.

  3. Why Family Planning Is a Smart Investment
    lomborg174_BSIPUIG Via Getty Images_basketbirthcontrolpills BSIP/UIG/Getty Images

    Why Family Planning Is a Smart Investment

    Oct 21, 2019 Bjørn Lomborg urges governments and other donors to make universal access to contraception a much higher priority.

  4. How Climate Policies Hurt the Poor
    lomborg173_ISSOUF SANOGOAFPGetty Images_climate Issouf Sanogo/AFP/Getty Images

    How Climate Policies Hurt the Poor

    Sep 26, 2019 Bjørn Lomborg says governments should focus on reducing poverty rather than greenhouse-gas emissions.

  5. The Danger of Climate Doomsayers
    lomborg172_John M Lund Photography_getty images_climate change John M. Lund Photography/Getty Images

    The Danger of Climate Doomsayers

    Aug 19, 2019 Bjørn Lomborg argues that exaggerated fears of global warming will lead to misguided policies to tackle it.

  1. tbunde7_Johannes SimonGetty Images_vance Johannes Simon/Getty Images

    A Westless World

    Tobias Bunde reflects on this year's Munich Security Conference and America's break from the transatlantic alliance.
  2. broning14_Maja HitijGetty Images_merz Maja Hitij/Getty Images

    Germany’s Last-Chance Election

    Michael Bröning

    With German voters clearly demanding comprehensive change, the far right has been capitalizing on the public's discontent and benefiting from broader global political trends. If the country's democratic parties cannot deliver, they may soon find that they are no longer the mainstream.

    explains why the outcome may decide whether the political “firewall” against the far right can hold.
  3. popescu6_ZinchenkoGlobal Images Ukraine via Getty Images)_ukrainepeace Zinchenko/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

    The Only Path to Genuine Peace in Ukraine

    Nicu Popescu

    The Russian and (now) American vision of "peace" in Ukraine would be no peace at all. The immediate task for Europe is not only to navigate Donald’s Trump unilateral pursuit of a settlement, but also to ensure that any deal does not increase the likelihood of an even wider war.

    sees a Korea-style armistice with security guarantees as the only viable option in Ukraine.
  4. asakawa3_PoolGettyImages_hindu_kush_glacial_melt Pool/Getty Images

    Meltdown at the Top of the World

    Masatsugu Asakawa urges development banks to act urgently to avert the catastrophic effects of the Himalayas’ thawing glaciers.
  5. frieda19_AnadoluGettyImages_russia_us_peace_talks Anadolu/Getty Images

    The Economic Consequences of Trump’s Ukrainian Peace

    Gene Frieda

    Rather than engage in lengthy discussions to pry concessions from Russia, US President Donald Trump seems committed to giving the Kremlin whatever it wants to end the Ukraine war. But rewarding the aggressor and punishing the victim would amount to setting the stage for the next war.

    warns that by punishing the victim, the US is setting up Europe for another war.
  6. oneill128in McNameeGetty Images_trump Win McNamee/Getty Images

    There Goes America

    Within his first month back in the White House, Donald Trump has upended US foreign policy and launched an all-out assault on the country’s constitutional order. With US institutions bowing or buckling as the administration takes executive power to unprecedented extremes, the establishment of an authoritarian regime cannot be ruled out.

  7. op_janeway18_DrAfter123Getty Images_AI DrAfter123/Getty Images

    In AI We Trust?

    William H. Janeway

    The rapid advance of AI might create the illusion that we have created a form of algorithmic intelligence capable of understanding us as deeply as we understand one another. But these systems will always lack the essential qualities of human intelligence.

    explains why even cutting-edge innovations are not immune to the world’s inherent unpredictability.
  8. strain36_Michael M. SantiagoGettyImages_ny_stock_exchange Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

    How Trump Can Achieve Sustained Growth

    Michael R. Strain foresees the US president building on a strong economy, so long as he steers clear of populist policies.
  9. schwarzer9_Telmo PintoSOPA ImagesLightRocket via Getty Images_macronstarmer Telmo Pinto/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

    Europe Alone

    Daniela Schwarzer explains what the European Union must do now that America has walked away from the transatlantic relationship.

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification

To receive email updates regarding this {entity_type}, please enter your email below.

If you are not already registered, this will create a PS account for you. You should receive an activation email shortly.