On Wednesday, the 2012 “Climate Vulnerability Monitor – a Guide
to the Cold Calculus of a Hot Planet“ was released to great
fanfare in New York City. Conducted by the DARA group, a non-
governmental organization based in Europe, and the Climate
Vulnerable Forum, the 331-page report forecasts death and
destruction on a scale normally reserved for science fiction.
Media covering the report printed extraordinary headlines. Per
US News & World Report: “Report: 100 Million Could Die From
Climate Change By 2030.” The Manila Bulletin headlined an Agence
France-Presse newswire article: “Climate Change Choking World
Economy — Report.” Businessweek announced: “Climate Change
Reducing Global GDP by $1.2 Trillion.” Only a few questioned
whether the report made any sense. Calling it “a triumph for
public relations,” statistician Bjorn Lomborg — director of the
Copenhagen Consensus Center in Denmark — showed how the report’s
handling of “climate change deaths, economic costs, and the
costs of ‘action versus inaction’” is no