Bjørn Lomborg is Wrong to Say Climate Change is a Problem to be Solved

The prominent sceptic's "pragmatism" still misses the point

In a commentary article in the Financial Post on Tuesday, Bjørn Lomborg argues that Net Zero is “on its way out”, as politicians across the world face up to the high cost and tiny climate returns of raising energy prices. With voters “weary of soaring energy bills and annoyed by increasingly hysteric and patronising climate rhetoric”, governments from the US to UK, Germany to Australia are waking up to the “simple truth”: “aggressive Net Zero mandates are delivering economic pain for unmeasurable and far-off climate gain”. Lomborg senses “a new pragmatism” entering the climate debate.

Lomborg takes the example of United Kingdom, whose Net Zero law enacted in 2019 committed it to zero emissions by 2050. “Hailed as bold leadership, its reality has been economic sabotage” as the UK’s industrial electricity prices surged at four times the increase in the US — leaving the UK with the highest power rates in the Western world.

While Prime Minister Keir Starmer is reportedly preparing to delay or dilute key green commitments to curb “voter revolt”, Reform UK, leading the national polls by far, promises to end Net Zero targets when the party comes to power. Kemi Badenoch, leader of the Conservatives, pledged in 2025 to repeal the Climate Change Act. Lomborg notes the retreat from penurious green policies in the EU, Germany, Australia, Japan and even in Democrat states in the US.

So how does the Western painful dalliance with Net Zero end, according to Lomborg? He finds promise in the about-turn declared by philanthropist Bill Gates who seems to have had an epiphany about the costs of Net Zero. Lomborg is on the same page as Gates. In his long memo ahead of the COP30 climate summit, Gates called for attending states to face up to “three tough truths”: climate change is serious but “will not lead to humanity’s demise”, temperature is not the best measure of progress, and our best defences against climate change are better health and increased prosperity.