Bjorn Lomborg: Don’t panic about global warming

As surely as temperatures rise during the summer, climate alarmists serve up more stories of life-threatening heat domes, apocalyptic fires and biblical floods — all blamed squarely on global warming. Yet the data is often cherry-picked.

Heat waves are clearly made worse by global warming. But saturated media coverage of high temperatures in summer fails to tell the bigger story: Temperature-driven deaths are overwhelmingly caused by cold.

Globally, a recent Lancet study found 4.5 million cold deaths, nine times more than global heat deaths. The study also finds that temperatures increased half a degree Celsius in the first two decades of this century, causing an additional 116,000 heat deaths annually. But warmer temperatures now also avoid 283,000 cold deaths annually. Reporting only on the former leaves us badly informed.

Across the world, governments have promised to achieve “net zero” carbon emissions at a cost beyond $5.6 trillion annually. Scared populations will, of course, be more likely to clamor for the perceived safety of such policies. But these policies help tackle heat and cold deaths poorly.

Even if all the world’s ambitious carbon-cutting promises were magically enacted, these policies would only slow future warming. Stronger heat waves would still kill more people, just slightly fewer than they would have. A sensible response would focus first on resilience, meaning more air conditioning and cooler cities through greenery and water features. After 2003’s heat waves, France required air conditioning in nursing homes, reducing heat deaths 10-fold despite higher temperatures.

Avoiding both cold and heat deaths requires affordable energy access. In the United States, cheaper gas from fracking allowed millions with low budgets to keep warm, saving thousands of lives.

Along with temperature spikes, alarming images of forest fires share the front pages this summer. You’d quickly get the sense that the planet is on fire. But since NASA satellites started accurately recording fires across the planet’s

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators Analysis

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
• SDG 13: Climate Action

The article discusses the impact of temperature on human health and the need for affordable energy access. It also mentions the importance of improving urban environments and addressing climate change.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 3.4: By 2030, reduce by one-third premature mortality from non-communicable diseases through prevention and treatment and promote mental health and well-being.
• Target 7.1: By 2030, ensure universal access to affordable, reliable, and modern energy services.
• Target 11.7: By 2030, provide universal access to safe, inclusive, and accessible, green, and public spaces, particularly for women and children, older persons, and persons with disabilities.
• Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters in all countries.

The article highlights the need to reduce temperature-driven deaths and improve resilience to extreme weather events, which align with these targets.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 3.4.1: Mortality rate attributed to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, or chronic respiratory disease.
• Indicator 7.1.1: Proportion of the population with access to electricity.
• Indicator 11.7.1: Average share of the built-up area of cities that is open space for public use for all, by sex, age, and persons with disabilities.
• Indicator 13.1.1: Number of deaths, missing persons, and directly affected persons attributed to disasters per 100,000 population.

These indicators can be used to measure progress in reducing temperature-driven deaths, improving energy access, enhancing urban green spaces, and addressing climate-related hazards.

Table: SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

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Source: richmond.com

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