False Alarm : How Climate Change Panic Costs Us Trillions, Hurts the Poor, and Fails to Fix the Planet

An “essential” ( Times UK) and “meticulously researched” ( Forbes ) book by “the skeptical environmentalist” argues that panic over climate change is causing more harm than good Hurricanes batter our coasts. Wildfires rage across the American West. Glaciers collapse in the Artic. Politicians, activists, and the media espouse a common message: climate change is destroying the planet, and we must take drastic action immediately to stop it. Children panic about their future, and adults wonder if it is even ethical to bring new life into the world. Enough, argues bestselling author Bjorn Lomborg. Climate change is real, but it's not the apocalyptic threat that we've been told it is. Projections of Earth's imminent demise are based on bad science and even worse economics. In panic, world leaders have committed to wildly expensive but largely ineffective policies that hamper growth and crowd out more pressing investments in human capital, from immunization to education. False Alarm will convince you that everything you think about climate change is wrong — and points the way toward making the world a vastly better, if slightly warmer, place for us all. The New York Times-bestselling "skeptical environmentalist" argues that panic over climate change is causing more harm than good Hurricanes batter our coasts. Wildfires rage across the American West. Glaciers collapse in the Artic. Politicians, activists, and the media espouse a common message: climate change is destroying the planet, and we must take drastic action immediately to stop it. Children panic about their future, and adults wonder if it is even ethical to bring new life into the world. Enough, argues bestselling author Bjorn Lomborg. Climate change is real, but it's not the apocalyptic threat that we've been told it is. Projections of Earth's imminent demise are based on bad science and even worse economics. In panic, world leaders have committed to wildly expensive but largely ineffective policies that hamper growth and crowd out more pressing investments in human capital, from immunization to education. False Alarm will convince you that everything you think about climate change is wrong -- and points the way toward making the world a vastly better, if slightly warmer, place for us all. Title Page Copyright SECTION 1 CLIMATE OF FEAR Introduction 1 Why Do We Get Climate Change So Wrong? 2 Measuring the Future SECTION 2 THE TRUTH ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE 3 A Fuller Story on Climate Change 4 Extreme Weather or Extreme Exaggeration? 5 What Is Global Warming Going to Cost Us? SECTION 3 HOW NOT TO FIX CLIMATE CHANGE 6 You Can’t Fix Climate Change 7 Why the Green Revolution Isn’t Here Yet 8 Why the Paris Agreement Is Failing 9 Pick a Path: Which Future Is Best? 10 How Climate Policy Hurts the Poor SECTION 4 HOW TO FIX CLIMATE CHANGE 11 Carbon Tax: The Market-Based Solution 12 Innovation: What Is Needed Most 13 Adaptation: Simple but Effective 14 Geoengineering: A Backup Plan 15 Prosperity: The Other Climate Policy We Need SECTION 5 TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE AND ALL THE WORLD’S OTHER CHALLENGES 16 Conclusion: How to Make the World a Better Place Acknowledgments Discover More About the Author Bibliography Also by Bjorn Lomborg Notes