31.08.2010: Climate 'sceptic' Bjørn Lomborg now believes global warming is one of world's greatest threats

One of the world’s most prominent climate change sceptics has called for a $100bn fund to fight the effects of global warning, after rethinking his views on the severity of the threat.

Bjørn Lomborg, a self-styled "sceptical environmentalist" who has long opposed international curbs on carbon emissions, is now urging world leaders to invest heavily in clean energy.

In a new book argues that global warming is “a challenge humanity must confront" and “undoubtedly one of the chief concerns facing the world today".

Prof Lomborg, an author and academic at Copenhagen Business School, is calling for a tax on carbon emissions to fund international efforts to boost wind, wave, solar and nuclear power.

Money is also needed to cover the research and development costs of innovative projects to counter rising temperatures, he argues.

He writes: "Investing $100bn annually would mean that we could essentially resolve the climate change problem by the end of this century."

Prof Lomborg denied that he had reversed his opinion the threat posed by global warming. Unlike many climate change sceptics he has never denied that mankind’s actions are making the earth hotter, merely that it makes more economic sense to adapt to higher temperatures than resist them.

He told The Guardian: "The point I've always been making is it's not the end of the world. That's why we should be measuring up to what everybody else says, which is we should be spending our money well."

However, Prof Lomborg’s unequivocal warning about the potentially disastrous consequences of the world’s reliance on fossil fuels will provide a welcome boost for environmentalists at a time when the science behind global warming is coming under increasing scrutiny.


Source: Telegraph UK

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