By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg There are plenty of things, which those of us lucky enough to live in the industrialised world take for granted; running water and flush toilets are among the most basic of these. 2.5 billion – almost half of the developing world – lack even a basic latrine, and 1 billion have to …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg Corruption last year cost the world more than $1tr. That is $1tr we can’t use to get better health care, education, food and environment. A study shows that corruption in Egypt costs each citizen about EGP 2,715 each year. And corruption is only part of the problem of poor governance – many …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg Almost one-quarter of all food in the world is lost each year, from harvesting and storage to wastage in the consumer’s kitchen. In sub-Saharan Africa, about 21% of all food is wasted. If we could halve the sub-Saharan waste, we could feed an extra 100 million people. We can expect almost a …
By Dr Bjørn Lomborg Ebola has received much of the attention in 2014, killing about 8,000 people. Over the same period of time, however, about 4 million people died from AIDS, tuberculosis (TB) and malaria. The truth is that, despite great progress in healthcare, much of the world is still blighted by preventable disease, with …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg Air quality has improved dramatically in rich countries over the past century. Around 1880, when the air was worst in London, it is estimated that 9,000 people died each year from air pollution, about one of every seven deaths. Today, London air is cleaner than it has been since medieval times. …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg In a world where there are so many worthwhile targets demanding our attention, we need to focus on those where we have the best chance of doing the most good. How about saving more than 14 million newborn by 2030? That’s a pretty eye-catching figure, but one which the author of a …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg Even if we believe we have come a long way regarding gender equality, the fact is that up to today, women tend to hold lower-paying jobs, are under-represented in politics and the upper levels of business, and bear the brunt of domestic violence. In parts of the developing world, women have …
By Dr Bjørn Lomborg Biodiversity – the range of species we share our planet with – is important, but can we put a value on it? And can we estimate the benefits and costs of conservation? Professor Anil Markandya and two other economists (Luke Brander and Alistair McVittie) have written three new, scientific papers …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg There was a time when we worried about a “population explosion”, with ever more people fighting over ever fewer resources. Yet, the population growth has decreased since the late 1960s, and resources have not run out. There are still population problems, but the two main ones are likely different from what …
By Dr. Bjørn Lomborg Climate change has certainly received immense exposure among the most eminent issues of the 21st century so far. The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon argues that it is “an existential challenge for the whole human race”. On the other hand, when over seven million people were asked by the UN what …
