Self-destructive policies must be turned around
United Nations Environment Programme
This is the future that awaits the world unless humanity
takes dramatic steps to end a series of mushrooming environmental crises, finds
a new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The seventh edition of the Global
Environment Outlook (GEO-7) offers a stark vision of
the decades to come. But its authors say the worst forecasts can still be
avoided if countries quickly take meaningful steps to address climate change,
nature, land and biodiversity loss, and pollution and waste.
“With a whole-of-government, whole-of-society effort
humanity can still turn the ship around,” says Maarten Kappelle, Chief of
Service in UNEP’s Office of Science. “But if countries continue to drag their
collective feet, billions of people will face an uncertain future, especially
those in the developing world.”
GEO-7, the work of nearly 300 scientists, created a model of what the planet would look like in 2050 if nations continued to do three environmentally destructive things: pollute, pump out greenhouse gasses and destroy natural spaces. In the first of three stories about the report, here are some of the key findings of that modelling.
Planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions are expected to rise to 75 billion tonnes a year by 2050 – a nearly 50 per cent jump from today. This will destabilize the climate and lead to a surge in heatwaves, which are expected to affect nearly everyone on Earth – some 9.2 billion people – by 2050. Almost no corner of the planet will remain untouched by extreme heat.