Bjørn Lomborg slog i sin præsentation på konferencen en ting fast fra starten: Energi er afgørende for velstand. Han advarede mod det, han kaldte en "grøn fantasi", hvor regeringer forfølger dyre og ineffektive løsninger uden at tage højde for de økonomiske konsekvenser.
En af hovedpointerne i Lomborgs præsentation var den tætte sammenhæng mellem energiforbrug og økonomisk velstand: "Jo mere energi et land har adgang til, jo rigere er det. Der findes ingen højindkomstlande med lavt energiforbrug," sagde Lomborg og pegede på data, der viser, at lande som Indien og Kina har et relativt lavt energiforbrug, mens USA ligger langt højere.
Han påpegede, at stor adgang til energi er en forudsætning for økonomisk vækst, og at politikker, der presser energipriserne i vejret, skader væksten.
Storbritanniens fejlslagne energipolitik
Som eksempel fremhævede han Storbritannien, hvor energipriserne er tredoblet siden 2000'erne: "Britiske husholdninger betaler i dag tre gange så meget for elektricitet som for 20 år siden. Det skyldes primært klimapolitik – ikke kun krigen i Ukraine," sagde Lomborg.
Han kritiserede, at Storbritannien havde valgt ikke at investere i fracking, hvilket kunne have givet billig gas og større energisikkerhed. Ifølge Lomborg koster de stigende energipriser Storbritannien 2% af BNP om året – en udgift, som hæmmer forbruget og væksten.
"Når elektricitet bliver dyr, bruger folk mindre af den. I dag bruger briterne mindre strøm per person end kineserne," bemærkede han.
Klimadøden er stærkt overdrevet
Lomborg gik også i rette med fortællingen om, at klimaforandringer er en eksistentiel krise. Han understregede, at data viser det modsatte: "For 150 år siden døde 5 millioner mennesker årligt af klimarelaterede katastrofer som storme, oversvømmelser og tørke. I dag er det færre end 10.000," sagde han.
Han påpegede, at faldet skyldes teknologiske fremskridt, bedre infrastruktur og økonomisk vækst – ikke reduktion af CO₂.
Den store myte om vedvarende energi
Lomborg adresserede også en af de mest udbredte påstande om den grønne omstilling: "Vi får hele tiden at vide, at sol- og vindenergi er ekstremt billigt. Det er sandt – men kun når solen skinner og vinden blæser. Når de ikke gør, er det den dyreste energi i verden, for du kan ikke købe noget, der ikke findes," sagde han.
Han præsenterede data fra 70 lande, der viser, at jo mere et land satser på sol- og vindenergi, desto højere bliver elpriserne: "Hvis sol og vind virkelig gjorde strøm billigere, burde de lande, der bruger mest af det, have de laveste priser. Det er ikke tilfældet. Faktisk er det modsat," sagde han.
Lomborg nævnte Danmark som et ekstremt eksempel: "Mit eget hjemland har mest vind- og solenergi af alle – og samtidig den højeste elpris i verden," sagde han.
Innovation, tilpasning og vækst
Ifølge Lomborg er løsningen ikke at opgive klimahandling, men at fokusere på tre centrale strategier:
Innovation – Investér i lavemissions-teknologi, f.eks. fjerdegenerations atomkraft.
Tilpasning – Brug diger og infrastruktur til at håndtere klimarisici, i stedet for dyre CO₂-reduktioner.
Økonomisk vækst – Rige samfund klarer klimaforandringer bedre end fattige.
"Hvis vi sænker energipriserne med bare 30 %, kan vi øge væksten med 0,75 procentpoint om året. Det lyder måske ikke af meget, men over tid betyder det en enorm forskel," sagde han.
Han afsluttede med en klar besked: "Hvis vi vil have væksten tilbage, skal vi stoppe klimaalarmismen, droppe ineffektive klimapolitikker og satse på innovation og vækst. Det er sådan, vi løser klimaproblemet uden at ødelægge økonomien."
Videopræsentation
Du kan se videoen fra Lomborgs præsentation på ARC-konferencen herunder. Under videoen er der en udskrift at Bjørn Lomborgs oplæg.
Udskrift af præsentationen
How Do We Get Back to Growth?
Thank you. It’s great to be here.
They’ve just given me a very simple question: How do we get back to growth?
This is my answer. Fundamentally, we need to get back to growth, and one of the most important ways to do that is by stopping bad climate policies. And we do that by ending climate alarmism.
I’m going to walk you through some key points that are incredibly important.
The Link Between Energy and Prosperity
We often hear that we can get by with less energy, but that’s not what we see in reality. If you look at energy consumption on one axis and wealth on the other, the pattern is clear.
It is simply very, very clear: the more energy a country has, the more likely it is to be rich. Or, to put it another way: to get rich, you need a lot of energy. To stay rich, you need a lot of energy.
There are no high-income, low-energy countries. That means we don’t need less energy—we need much more.
But one of the problems with climate policies is that they drive up prices—sometimes dramatically—making it much harder to keep using energy.
How Climate Policies Have Increased Energy Prices
Take the UK, for example. If you look at energy prices—this is from the International Energy Agency, which provides some of the best data available—it shows what electricity costs in the UK, both for industry and households, adjusted for inflation.
Over the last century, prices came down because we got better and better at producing electricity. But from around 2003, that trend reversed. Prices first doubled. Then they tripled.
Today, British people pay three times as much for electricity as they did just 20 years ago.
Most of this increase is due to climate policies. Yes, Ukraine played a role—but that’s because the UK relied on cheap Russian gas, which turned out to be a bad idea. Maybe if the UK had invested in fracking, it wouldn’t have had this problem.
The Cost of Climate Policies on the Economy
The fundamental point here is that we are only going to fix this if we stop wasting money on bad policies.
Just consider this: The UK is now spending 2% more of its GDP every year on electricity. That is an enormous, unnecessary cost. And, of course, it reduces consumption.
Since the early 2000s, electricity use per person in the UK has been falling. That is not surprising—when electricity becomes expensive, people use less.
China has now surpassed the UK in electricity use per capita.
The world as a whole is about to do the same.
The U.S. uses far more electricity than the UK. Why? Because electricity is cheaper.
The UK has incredibly high electricity prices, and that slows down economic growth.
If you look at the growth rate in rich countries, you’ll notice something important.
In the 1960s, per capita growth was about 4% per year.
By the 1990s, it had dropped to about 2%.
Today, it’s barely above 1%.
Not all of this decline is due to climate policy, but it is certainly a contributing factor.
So, if we want to get growth back, we need abundant and cheap energy.
The Truth About Climate Change
Now, let’s talk about climate change itself.
Yes, climate change is a real problem. But it is not the end of the world.
We are constantly being told that climate change is an existential threat, but that is simply not true.
Here’s some important data.
If you look at climate-related deaths—deaths from floods, droughts, storms, and wildfires—the numbers have fallen dramatically:
In the 1870s, about 5 million people died from climate-related disasters every year.
By the 1920s, that number had fallen to 500,000 per year.
By the 1970s, it was down to 55,000 per year.
Today, fewer than 10,000 people die from climate-related disasters each year.
That’s a 500-fold decline—even though the global population has quintupled in the same period.
This is not a world spiraling into catastrophe. We are handling climate challenges better than ever.
The Myth of Cheap Renewables
We are constantly told that solar and wind are incredibly cheap.
And yes, if you just look at the cost when the sun is shining or the wind is blowing, that is true.
But what happens when they aren’t?
Then, renewables become the most expensive energy in the world—because you simply can’t buy electricity that doesn’t exist.
If wind and solar really made electricity cheaper, we would expect to see lower prices in the countries that use the most.
But when we analyze data from nearly 70 countries, we find the opposite:
China and India, which use little wind and solar, have cheap electricity.
The U.S., which uses more renewables, has higher prices.
The EU, which has invested heavily in wind and solar, has even higher prices.
The UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, which are "leaders" in renewables, have some of the highest energy costs in the world.
And my home country, Denmark, is the worst of all—it has the most wind and solar and the highest electricity prices.
The data is clear: More renewables do not mean cheaper electricity.
How to Fix Climate Policy and Restore Growth
So, what do we do instead?
We need to be honest about climate change. It is a real problem, but it is not an existential crisis.
We need to recognize that current climate policies are failing.
We need a better approach—based on innovation, adaptation, and economic growth.
Innovation: We should invest in low-carbon R&D. Instead of spending $2 trillion per year on ineffective climate policies, we could redirect just 5% of that to breakthrough technologies, such as fourth-generation nuclear power.
Adaptation: Instead of costly carbon cuts, we should focus on practical solutions like flood defenses.
Growth: Wealth is the best protection against climate risks. Prosperous countries handle disasters far better than poor ones.
If we reduce energy prices by 30%, studies suggest economic growth could increase by 0.75 percentage points per year. That doesn’t sound like much, but over time, it transforms living standards.
Conclusion
If we want to restore growth, we need to:
End climate alarmism.
Stop wasteful climate policies.
Focus on innovation, adaptation, and economic growth.
That is how we get growth back.
Thank you.
