Global ‘perfect storm’ threat as population soars

THE world is heading for a “perfect storm” of soaring demand for food, water and energy by 2030 as the population grows, the British government’s chief scientist warned yesterday.

Professor John Beddington said there would be international food and water shortages in 20 years’ time, while food and energy prices would rise in Britain.

The problems of a growing global population coming out of poverty would be exacerbated by climate change.

In a speech to the Sustainable Development Commission conference in London, he said that by 2030 world food production would need to rise 50% to meet demand.

He said one in three people were already facing water shortages, and world water demand was expected to increase by more than 30% by 2030.

And by the same year, total energy demands for the world population were expected to increase 50%, he said.

Prof Beddington told the conference that the world needed to secure supplies of food, energy and water, alongside tackling and adapting to climate change.

He said: “It’s a perfect storm. There are dramatic problems out there, particularly with water and food, but energy also, and they are all intimately connected. You can’t think about dealing with one without considering the others.

“We must deal with all of these together.”

And he added: “My main concern is what will happen internationally; there will be food and water shortages.

“We’re relatively fortunate in the UK; there may not be shortages here, but we can expect prices of food and energy to rise.”

He also said Europe needed to step up its scientific agenda to meet the challenge, by appointing scientific advisers who could challenge policy on scientific grounds at an early stage in the process.

He pointed to the importance placed on science by the new US administration, and said the EU should follow suit.

Prof Beddington said climate change would mean northern Europe would become a new key centre for food production, and other areas would need to use more advanced pesticides.

The United Nations Environment Programme has predicted widespread water shortages across Africa, Europe and Asia by 2025.

The amount of fresh water available per head of the population is expected to decline sharply in that time.