Press Release Best solutions to three major global challenges
New research highlights the best ways to tackle three of the planet’s biggest challenges, ahead of the Copenhagen Consensus 2008 project Copenhagen, Denmark (May 23, 2008) – The Copenhagen Consensus Center today released new research papers designed to reveal the best approaches to combating three world challenges: -
Education deficiencies Air Pollution Water and Sanitation shortages
This research follows papers into seven other global challenges: conflict, disease, global warming, malnutrition and hunger, trade and subsidy barriers, terrorism and women and development. From Sunday May 25, Copenhagen Consensus 2008 will bring together an expert panel of economists, including 5 Nobel Laureates, to examine the new research and identify the most promising approaches across every challenge. The lead author of the education research was Peter Orazem of Iowa State University, who recommends focusing on children who attend school and then drop out. He highlights the significant benefits from targeting health and nutrition programs to boost attendance and performance at school. He also draws attention to scholarship programs, and to ‘conditional cash transfers’, where parents are paid to send their children to school regularly. This latter policy option would have benefits – from the subsequent lift in income of better-educated children – worth 25 times more than the costs. In the case of air pollution, consultant Bjorn Larsen recommends cheap, effective interventions to combat indoor air pollution. This claims several million lives a year through the use of old-fashioned cooking technology and solid fuel. Providing a ‘rocket’ stove to half the people using unhealthy, old-fashioned stoves would cut the negative health effects caused by solid fuel use by a third, at a cost of US$2.3 billion. Larsen’s research also examines ways to combat outdoor air pollution. It finds that there are no easy answers. Options chosen in wealthy nations – such as diesel vehicle filters and ‘inspection and maintenance’ checks – are expensive and therefore not cost-effective in many poor nations. COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS CENTER COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL • SOLBJERG PLADS 3 • 2000 FREDERIKSBERG • DENMARK +45 3815 2255 • INFO.CCC@CBS.DK • WWW.COPENHAGENCONSENSUS.COM
Press Release Best solutions to three major global challenges
The third paper examines how to help the billion people who don’t have access to decent water supply, or 2.5 billion who go without sanitation services. It finds that the costs of many large infrastructure solutions prove to be higher than the benefits. However, it advocates as ‘intermediate’ solutions such as the development of a rural water supply in Africa using deep boreholes and public hand-pumps. The paper also recommends building large multipurpose dams in Africa. A single reservoir located in the scarcely inhabited Blue Nile gorge in Ethiopia, for example, could produce large amounts of sorely-needed power for Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt, mitigate droughts, and lead to enhanced opportunities for irrigation. The costs of a typical project would come to about $US3.1b. Benefits from the power generation, downstream irrigation, carbon offsets and reduced floods would be about two times as high. “Like all of the new research for Copenhagen Consensus 2008, these three research papers highlight some really exciting opportunities. They are also refreshing in that they point out what doesn’t work. In education, for example, the evidence shows us that building new schools is a poor way to boost attendance and performance”, said Director of the Copenhagen Consensus Center, Bjorn Lomborg. “I am really excited to see how the Nobel Laureate expert panel will prioritize these solutions – and the others they examine as part of Copenhagen Consensus 2008 – this week.” Copenhagen Consensus 2008 starts on May 25 with a press conference in Copenhagen hosted by the Danish Prime Minister. On May 30, the Nobel Laureate expert panel will present their results: a prioritized list showing the best and worst solutions to world challenges. Note to editors: the authors of these papers and Bjørn Lomborg are available for interview. Recent articles on Copenhagen Consensus research: Reuters: Security spending fails to curb terror toll - study (March 5, 2008), Micronutrients, education keys to end hunger - study (April 4, 2008), Study urges UN force to back coup-risk democracies (April 22, 2008), Broad climate fight best, not just gas cuts: study (May 8, 2008) Other very recent articles: Best options for tackling earth's killer diseases (China Daily, May 23 2008), How to Think About the World's Problems (Wall Street Journal, May 22 2008) For interviews, comments or to enquire about media accreditation to the Copenhagen Consensus 2008, contact Head of Communication Tommy Petersen, tp.ccc@cbs.dk, +4538152252. For the full papers and more details on Copenhagen Consensus 2008, visit www.copenhagenconsensus.com COPENHAGEN CONSENSUS CENTER COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL • SOLBJERG PLADS 3 • 2000 FREDERIKSBERG • DENMARK +45 3815 2255 • INFO.CCC@CBS.DK • WWW.COPENHAGENCONSENSUS.COM