Author of 'Best Things First', 'False Alarm', and 'Skeptical Environmentalist', President Copenhagen Consensus: smart solutions through economic prioritization
Malmö, Sweden
Joined December 2009
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Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
European Commission sounds the alarm (now !!!) about the number of oil refineries closing in the region over the last 20 years. "We need to counter this trend," says EU Energy Commissioner Dan Jørgensen. "This crisis is a wake-up call." Quite.
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
The cheap green lie
You are told that solar and wind are cheap
But you need near-100% backup when no sun or wind, paying for two systems
Data for 2025 shows that
cramming in more solar and wind makes electricity overall more and more costly
Sources:
Electricity prices, households and industry, 2025
iea.org/data-and-statistics/…
Solar and wind generation, electricity use and consumption weights
iea.org/data-and-statistics/…
Solar and wind for countries without IEA 2025 data
ember-energy.org/data
Electricity trade partners, plus industry prices for Norway, Albania, Iceland and Kosovo
ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/en…
US industry price
eia.gov/electricity/annual
Australia, IEA 2021 prices updated with official price indices
abs.gov.au/statistics/econom…
South Africa industry price
eskom.co.za/wp-content/uploa…
Taiwan industry tariff
taipower.com.tw
Egypt industry tariff
egyptera.org/en/TarrifAug202…
Tunisia tariffs (archived copy, the STEG site is unreachable)
web.archive.org/web/20250614…
Azerbaijan industry tariff
regulator.gov.az/en/istehlak…
2025 tariff changes applied to IEA 2024 prices
Pakistan: nepra.org.pk
Thailand: erc.or.th
Ghana: purc.com.gh
Paraguay: ande.gov.py
Kazakhstan: stat.gov.kz/en/industries/ec…
GlobalPetrolPrices 2025 averages for 18 countries, read from archived 2025 pages
globalpetrolprices.com/elect…
web.archive.org
Sri Lanka 2025 tariff changes
pucsl.gov.lk/end-user-tariff…
Indonesia solar and wind estimated from official 2025 capacity
esdm.go.id/id/media-center/a…
Statista 2025 averages for China, Mexico, Brazil, Russia, Singapore, Peru, Argentina and South Africa (data from GlobalPetrolPrices)
statista.com/statistics/1369… (business prices worldwide)
statista.com/statistics/1461… (household prices worldwide)
statista.com/statistics/1173… (Latin America business)
statista.com/statistics/1123… (Latin America households)
statista.com/statistics/1373… (China business)
statista.com/statistics/1372… (Mexico business)
statista.com/statistics/1372… (Mexico households)
statista.com/statistics/1617… (South Africa households)
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
CHART OF THE DAY: The price of natural gas in the US 🇺🇸 and Europe 🇪🇺. Now, imagine running a gas-intensive company (say, a fertilizer plant) in either region. Europe >$30; US <$3
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
At #ONEData we're launching the Development Finance Observatory.
A data analyst in your pocket.
Ask it about aid, debt, domestic finance, inflation, trade, and more.
Get a trusted, verifiable answer. 100,000 indicators. 1,300 places and organisations.
developmentfinance.org
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
It's easy to complain about the climate. Bjørn Lomborg is coming to Oxford to do something much more difficult. In the opening Oakeshott lecture of 2026 (in Oxford on the 19th of October), he will explain how serious adults can tackle climate change without resigning themselves to the greater dangers of poverty. I will attend and I strongly advise you to do the same. I particularly look forward to his discussion with @MrWinMarshall afterwards.
Tickets must be booked in advance, but are free of charge: eventbrite.co.uk/e/bjrn-lomb…?
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
China reduced extreme poverty fast, but Indonesia hasn’t been far behind.
China is often the poster child for rapid reductions in poverty, and for good reason. In the early 1980s, over 90% of its population lived in extreme poverty, but by the early 2020s, that number had dropped to nearly zero.
Some might assume that China is the only reason why global extreme poverty has declined. But that’s wrong: many countries have seen dramatic reductions in poverty, too. Indonesia is one clear example; it’s shown alongside China on the chart.
In 1984, 86% of Indonesians lived on less than $3 per day. By 2025, this had fallen to less than 4%. While it didn’t quite match China’s decline, it has still been impressive. The number of people living in extreme poverty has fallen from 140 million to about 10 million.
Note that the international poverty line is extremely low, defined as people living on less than $3 per day. But Indonesia has also made progress when measuring higher poverty lines.
(written by @_HannahRitchie and @parriagadap)
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
2026 global fire so far lowest in satellite era
NASA fire satellites scan Earth 24/7—just now released new August data
Burned area Jan-Aug really is lower than all other years Jan-August
21.6% decline from average
earthdata.nasa.gov/data/cata…
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
From @WSJopinion: Most recycling is a waste. Metals and some plastics are worth separating, but the rest of it is costly and can hurt the environment, writes @BjornLomborg.
on.wsj.com/4y8mkKI
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
Almost anything can be recycled if you throw enough money and energy at it. But are the benefits worth the cost? asks @BjornLomborg
on.wsj.com/4dvEXRD
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
We are pleased to announce the full programme for the 2026 Oakeshott Lectures. Speakers include Bjørn Lomborg, Carl Benjamin, Professor Amy Wax and Christopher Caldwell.
Register: eventbrite.co.uk/o/oakeshott…
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
Regeringen kalder sig »den grønneste nogensinde« og skruer Danmarks klimamål endnu højere op i et nyt klimaprogram.
Men én afgørende detalje glimrer totalt ved sit fravær: Prisen.
Ifølge B.T.s klimaekspert, @BjornLomborg , og @CEPOS putter regeringen med en potentiel gigantregning for de danske skatteydere.
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
We’ve turned recycling into a moral ritual instead of a cost‑effective environmental tool.
Denmark now has 10 trash categories, but chasing arbitrary target rates means spending nearly €4,000 per ton of CO₂ avoided—50x the EU carbon price.
Recycle what is worth recycling. Then throw away the idea that more recycling is always better.
My new op-ed: wsj.com/opinion/most-recycli…
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
Most recycling is a waste. Metals and some plastics are worth separating, but the rest of it is costly and can hurt the environment, writes @BjornLomborg
on.wsj.com/4i9fMa4
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
Zeke @hausfath has posted on the economics of energy technologies and argues that deployed solar and wind displace fossil fuels at a 1:1 ratio
He blocks me here so I’ll respond in this thread and post at his site
His analysis has some issues …
1/4
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
“Behind the Scenes” at the National Academies
New documents reveal stealth advocacy at the heart of America's science academy
rogerpielkejr.substack.com/p…
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
#Opinion | Bjorn Lomborg: The Great Barrier Reef isn't dying—although alarm ringers aren’t ready to admit it
Bjorn Lomborg reports
livemint.com/opinion/online-…
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
What’s the evidence on rent control?
I charted the findings from 112 studies:
Great for rent-controlled tenants ✅
But:
Pushes up rents for other people ❌
Pushes down new housing construction ❌
Pushes down building quality ❌
Bjorn Lomborg retweeted
You: Britain doesn’t build enough infrastructure because our politics is too short-termist.
*appoints professional Long-Term Thinker*
Long-Term Thinker: Don’t build roads because they’ll destroy the planet.
'No jobs on a dead planet' - former commissioner defends helping scrap M4 relief road bbc.in/4jl7Kfx
