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…
Image
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…
Image
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

Oct 30
Climate professor Michael Mann claims “There is no greater threat to developing nations than the climate crisis”

His claim is wrong in many ways

1) Intuitively wrong. Poor parents across the world worry about hunger, poverty, disease, insecurity, bad education. When your kid could die tonight from an easily curable disease, your priority is not a 0.1°C temperature reduction in a century

Mann quote: edition.cnn.com/2025/10/28/bus…Image
WRONG: Climate professor Michael Mann claims “There is no greater threat to developing nations than the climate crisis”

2) Leaders in low- and middle-income countries find education, employment, peace, and health are at the top of their development priorities, with climate at 12th of 16 issues

docs.aiddata.org/ad4/pdfs/Liste…Image
WRONG: Climate professor Michael Mann claims “There is no greater threat to developing nations than the climate crisis”

3) World Bank’s own surveys show that climate is not high on most countries’ agenda

On average, less than 6% of countries have climate in their top 3 priorities
Image
Read 5 tweets
Sep 2
The world is burning less, not more

That's contrary to the climate narrative

2025 has seen dramatically less fire in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe

On this trajectory, 2025 could become the lowest-burn year in the 21st century

Did you see this reported anywhere?

Data: from satellites circling the planet 24/7 (MODIS), modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/data/dataprod/…

2025 data from Jan 1-Sept 2 shows 80% as much burned area as normally for same period 2012-24 from Global Wildfire Information System, gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.stat…

Light blue data shows extrapolation on current trajectory to full 2025Image
In 2025, the world is burning less, not more

That's contrary to the climate narrative

2025 has seen extraordinarily little fire in Africa, much less than average, and even less than the minimum, from 2012-24

Did you see this reported anywhere?

Data from Global Wildfire Information System gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.stat…Image
In 2025, the world is burning less, not more

That's contrary to the climate narrative

2025 has seen extraordinarily little fire in the Americas, much less than average, and even less than the minimum, from 2012-24

Did you see this reported anywhere?

Data from Global Wildfire Information System gwis.jrc.ec.europa.eu/apps/gwis.stat…Image
Read 7 tweets
Jun 30
Awful climate scare

New Nature study claims climate means less food, “like everyone giving up breakfast."

Media even spins "mass starvation"

No, study's small print reveals ever more food, tempered slightly by climate

+ many other issues

The scare is the point

🧵Image
New study claims climate leads to much less food

Reality? "Reduction" is merely a deviation from increasing baseline yields

So, not less food overall, but slightly less of much more food

Still, the researchers tell the "less food" story to the public

nature.com/articles/s4158…Image
New study claims climate means food loss like giving up breakfast

Only true IF agricultural innovation halts today

Preposterous to assume progress stops — global yields up 8% since 2015, 1%+ annually since 1961

The researchers don't believe it, but they tell journalists Image
Read 9 tweets
May 4
The cheap green lie

You are told that solar and wind are cheap

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

because solar and wind are worthless when not sunny and windy

iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
The cheap green lie

You are told that solar and wind are cheap

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

because solar and wind are worthless when not sunny and windy

True for both 2023 and 2019, before Covid and Ukraine

iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
There are no high-solar&wind, low-cost nations

You are told that solar and wind are cheap

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

because solar and wind are worthless when not sunny and windy

iea.org/data-and-stati…Image
Read 4 tweets
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

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