Bjorn Lomborg Profile picture
Jan 9, 2024 11 tweets 7 min read Read on X
Despite breathless climate reporting about ever more fire

The US burned area last year was the lowest this century

It was less than 7% of the 1930s

Climate does increase the burned area

but zoning and forest management are much more important

Thread + refsImage
We actually have good decadal estimates of US burned area from 1900

2023 saw less than 3% of the area that burned each year in 1900s (1900-1909)



data credibility: onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.…
nifc.gov/fire-informati…
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Climate change played a minor role in the wildfires that devastated California in the past three years, a panel of experts said

blaming most on land management and development.

"25% ...from climate change, and 75% is the way we manage lands"

eenews.net/stories/106202…
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Reduction in US burn in the middle of last century is likely due to fire suppression

Part of the uptick over the past decades likely due to climate

But we're badly informed, when e.g. Economist tell us “wildfire in America has quadrupled in 40 years”

economist.com/graphic-detail…
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And no, US forest area has not decreased since 1900

actually, it has slightly increased

(p7)fs.usda.gov/sites/default/…Image
If the entire world keeps burning a crazy amount of fossil fuels

annual burned area in the US will stay about constant

EPA estimates for the Fourth National Climate Assessment, cfpub.epa.gov/si/si_public_r…
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If the entire world reduces CO₂ emissions dramatically — about 70% from RCP8.5 — it means just slightly lower burned area in 2100

It should be obvious that zoning and forest management is much quicker, cheaper and will help many more people better, faster Image
More houses are being built in high-risk areas for wildfires

Maybe our first wildfire policy should focus much more on stopping people from building in vulnerable areas?

And then better fire regulation for those who stay?

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…
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Despite breathless climate reporting about ever-more fires

US fires burn 5-10x less today

Even with extreme climate emissions, area burned stays about same across century

Climate does increase burned area,

but zoning and forest management much more important

Contrary to what you constantly hear in the media

Global fire in 2023 burned 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨 than normal

Yes, Canada burned very much more (constantly reported), but surely the media should also tell you that US, Africa and Europe burned much less?

gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.stat…
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Climate alarmists scare us of ever more fire

But NASA satellites show that the world is burning 𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙨

Why don't we hear this?


wsj.com/articles/clima…
archive.ph/WfDJh
modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/…

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More from @BjornLomborg

Apr 30
Two days ago, Spain lost 55% of its power, most from solar

Perception: Everyone wants to blame anything but renewables

Reality: With renewables, the grid gets vulnerable (missing inertia, mainly from fossil fuels) so we need more costly renewable management

So Reuters deceptively tells us, "don't blame renewables," blame "management of renewables"

reuters.com/business/energ…Image
"By continuously reducing inertia, Spain’s policymakers engineered a vulnerability."

"Spain’s electrical grid was operating with very little margin for error, a risky game that the Spanish government has been playing more aggressively each year since energy-transitionist ideologues took power two decades ago."

archive.ph/eonJRImage
Read 5 tweets
Jan 25
The myth that the green energy transition is inevitable and will make cheap electricity for everyone is one of the most dangerous self-delusions of the global elite

My piece for Sunday Telegraph

archive.ph/EufH0Image
Globally, fossil fuels supply 81% today (2022)

only marginally down from 81.2% in 2000

On current trends, fossil fuels are not on track to end in 2050
but in 4-9 centuries
iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
You are told that solar and wind are cheap

But cramming in more solar and wind just makes power more and more costly

because solar and wind are worthless when not sunny and windy

iea.org/data-and-stati…

x.com/i/web/status/1… Image
Read 4 tweets
Oct 31, 2024
Spanish floods are tragic — as they are everywhere

But remember flood deaths down dramatically

Globally, floods now kill 5,400/year, down from 400,000/year in 1930s

Deaths from European floods down 7-fold to less than 100 per year today

nature.com/articles/s4146…Image
Despite breathless climate reporting,

not only are European floods causing fewer deaths (tweet above) but

Losses from floods in Europe are declining, not increasing

nature.com/articles/s4146…Image
Death from flooding declining (2nd row)

not only for rich countries but for poor countries

Deaths declining for almost all extreme weather for rich and poor

for flood, flash flood, coastal flood, cold and wind

and for all extreme weather

sciencedirect.com/science/articl…Image
Read 5 tweets
Sep 15, 2024
New study: Climate change saves 282,000 babies

Higher temperatures mean more heat, and more babies dying from heat

but it also means less cold, and many more babies not dying from cold

In total, higher temps saved 282,251 babies in 29 poorer countries from 2000-19

Did you read that anywhere?

nature.com/articles/s4146…Image
As we have come to expect from studies of heat and cold, they use unequal scales, which makes heat and cold look about the same

— they're not, as you can see on the right


nature.com/articles/s4146…

Image
The study is very explicit in pointing out that the change in extra heat deaths and fewer cold deaths is caused by climate change

nature.com/articles/s4146…
Image
Read 6 tweets
Sep 11, 2024
EU climate policy has enormous costs

Industry electricity prices have increased 70% in real terms since 2000

EU industries now pay 2.7x the electricity price in the US (and 1.9x in China)

EU households now pay 2x US electricity price (and 3.3x China)

iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
EU climate policy causes high electricity costs

Consequently, EU can afford much less electricity per person

In this century, the EU has managed to get access to almost as much electricity per person as the US got in 1968


iea.org/data-and-stati…
data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.P…Image
EU climate policy has enormous costs

Electricity prices for industry have increased 78% in real terms since 1978

EU industries now pay 2.5x the electricity price in the US (and 1.9x in China)

EU households pay 2x US electricity price (and 3.3x China)

iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
Read 5 tweets
Aug 30, 2024
Outrageously misleading climate scare from the UN

Today, 85% more old people die from heat

What they don't tell you:

There are now 86% more old people



un.org/sg/en/content/…
thelancet.com/journals/lance…
population.un.org/dataportal/
I write about this and many other heat scares from the UN in today's WSJ

wsj.com/opinion/united…
Here is UNICEF misinforming on heat
Image
Read 5 tweets

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