As climate-related rows go, it has created its fair share of heat. The Australian government and a major university have come under fire for backing a proposed research centre to be run by the controversial Bj酶rn Lomborg. He has argued that the threat from global warming is overblown and money spent in fighting it largely wasted.
鈥淧olitically, Lomborg鈥檚 reductionist approach can serve to expand the spectrum of what is acceptable to put forward in the public debate,鈥� says , a climate economist from the Australian National University in Canberra. 鈥淟omborg might say that some types of aid 鈥� for example for climate change mitigation 鈥� are not cost effective.鈥�
The government has earmarked A$4 million to set up the Australia Consensus Centre, to be modelled on Lomborg鈥檚 Copenhagen centre, which lost its Danish government funding in 2012.
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But from and students. Critics contrasted the government鈥檚 support for the centre with and abolition of the Climate Commission, which communicated the dangers of global warming to the public.
The University of Western Australia had agreed to host the centre, but last week announced with 鈥済reat regret and disappointment鈥� that it would not. The government is still seeking a venue even though the Royal Society of New South Wales, the country鈥檚 oldest learned society, has called on all universities not to accept.
of the University of New South Wales is one of the critics of the proposed centre. He says he was outraged at the University of Western Australia for thinking of taking money 鈥渢o appoint a climate contrarian who will provide succour for the government鈥檚 view that we don鈥檛 have to do anything serious about climate change鈥�.
Lomborg says the centre will produce peer-reviewed work to inform Australian public policy. 鈥淐openhagen Consensus has been recognised as a top global think tank for its work with more than 100 leading economists and seven Nobel laureates exploring smart solutions to global challenges,鈥� he says.
