Bjørn Lomborg - one of the world's leading climate skeptic sees his funding melt away fast

[Simon]

The Independet reports that the incoming red-green Danish government will cut off the £1m a year state funding that goes to Bjørn Lomborg and his Copenhagen Consensus center. Bjørn Lomborg is one of the world's most high-profile climate change skeptic.

"Bjorn Lomborg, author of The Skeptical Environmentalist and bête noire of climate change activists around the world, has been told that the incoming Danish government will cut off his £1m a year funding. Mr Lomborg, whose 2001 book suggested the planet should adapt to global warming rather than wasting resources trying to prevent it, has made his name by accusing scientists and others of exaggerating the extent and effects of climate change."

Ya, it's not easy being a libertarian climate skeptic these days... It's worth noting that if the Danish people wouldn't have voted out the former liberal-conservative government, Bjørn Lomborg probably would have received increased state funding. The extreme far-right political party Dansk Folkeparti (which was a support party to the fragile liberal-conservative government since 2001) demanded already in 2009 (around the same time as COP15 was taking place) that Lomborg's Copenhagen Consensus center should receive millions in new funds - a decision pretty much solely based on ideology reasons.

[Link]

I think I'll try reading what he has to say about the issue. Maybe we can turn this into a discussion where I can play devil's advocate.

[NoNukes]

Thats a good initiative by the Danish government. We shouldnt be funding climate skeptics these days!

I think I'll try reading what he has to say about the issue. Maybe we can turn this into a discussion where I can play devil's advocate.

Now why would you wanna do that!!? :wacko:

[Link]

I think - generally - that having both sides of debate is a good thing. Who knows, maybe he's even right about some of the things he says. At the beginning of his book 'Cool it' he states that global warming is a fact, and that humanity's increase of greenhouse gasses over the last hundred years has contributed to this fact. I wonder how many sceptics mention this when they refer to him in their anti-climate-change-arguments. So far it doesn't sound too bad.

We'll never know if we don't check it out with an open mind. If he's wrong about his claims then we'll have a clearer idea of why and how we can debunk them. It's a win-win. Know your friends, but make equal effort to understand your opponents.

[Simon]

Sure, Lomborg acknowledges global warming. But he downplays the devastating climate effects and says we don't need to minimize our greenhouse gas emissions. Lomborg's main idea is that we should be directing our resources toward fighting poverty instead of "wasting them" on efforts to lessen future climate change. Why? Because, as he claims, the larger and more prosperous economy in the future will allow future generations to deal with the problems related to climate change.

So really, Lomborg is preaching the age old capitalistic dream of constant, and never ending, growth and modernization fairytale. "No we dont need to deal with the problems today - in the future we will be even richer and then we can afford to combat the problems (and maybe even some kind of technology will come along and make it all effortless)". But this argument ignores the limitations on technology and economic progress there is. And if climate change limits economic growth (which it probably most likely will), there wont be no larger or prosperous economy. And even if there were to be a larger economy (if we completely ignore the earths limitations), it may not be enough to deal with the chaos associated with climate disruption.

It should also be noted that Lomborg is not a climate scientist, or a economist. He has published little to none peer-reviewed research on climate or environmental policy. He is just a (distraction) talking head that corporations and politicians who doesn't want any limits or controls on greenhouse gas emissions fund and use.

[Link]

Oups, didn't see your reply to this Simon. I would love to go into details, but I never quite got to reading the book. Too many things on my mind right now, so maybe some other time.

[joeldgreat]

Maybe, they already see it as a losing battle (fighting to stop global warming). If my opinion is correct, then were doomed. Maybe some of us will adopt to the change but surely many will not survive to tell the story. But, maybe it is still not too late and we can still make the difference. The problem is, how many of us are willing to make its share.