Environment: Act now or face costly consequences, warns OECD

The global environment faces a bleak future unless world leaders change the way energy and water are consumed, according the Environmental Outlook to 2050, a joint production of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency.

Greenhouse gas output will rise by 50 percent, annual deaths from particulate air pollution may double to 3.6 million people and 2.3 billion more people will live in water-stressed areas in fewer than 4 decades the way things are developing, currently, the OECD said recently in its first environmental outlook report since 2008.

If we fail to transform our policies and behavior, the picture is rather grim. The costs and consequences of inaction are colossal, both in economic and human terms.

(OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria)

Global leaders must prepare for a planet that’s heading for more than 2 billion additional people by 2050 and a greater demand for water, energy and other resources. The prospects for climate change, biodiversity, water, and the impacts on human health of pollution are all “more alarming” than in 2008, according to the OECD.

Greenhouse gas emission increase, due to an increased energy demand of around 80%, may lead to at least 3 degrees Celsius of warming by the end of the century, the OECD said. Primary forests, which are rich in wildlife and plants, are expected to shrink by 13 percent, while farm runoff will worsen, damaging water ecosystems.

Delay in alleviating these environmental pressures will impose significant costs, undermine growth and development and run the risk of irreversible and potentially catastrophic changes further into the future

The Outlook provides policymakers with a practical guide to a more sustainable path. The analysis in the Outlook fits within the goals and actions of the European Union in preparation for Rio +20 in June this year, when world leaders will gather in Rio de Janeiro to chart a development path that doesn’t deplete resources and pollute unsustainably. This is especially important because custom actions and goals have to fit various countries and regions. Concrete issues include green public procurement, sustainable consumption and production and sustainable use of natural resources.

Read the Environmental Outlook to 2050 here.

The above news item is reprinted from materials available at OECD, Bloomberg News. Original text may be edited for content and length.

(Sources: OECD, 15.03.2012; PBL, 15.03.2012; Bloomberg News, 15.03.2012)