Growing world population will cause a “perfect storm” of food, energy and water shortages by 2030, the UK government chief scientist has warned.
By 2030 the demand for resources will create a crisis with dire consequences, Prof John Beddington said.
Demand for food and energy will jump 50% by 2030 and for fresh water by 30%, as the population tops 8.3 billion, he told a conference in London.
Climate change will exacerbate matters in unpredictable ways, he added.
‘Complacent’
“It’s a perfect storm,” Prof Beddington told the Sustainable Development UK 09 conference.
“There’s not going to be a complete collapse, but things will start getting really worrying if we don’t tackle these problems.”
Prof Beddington said the looming crisis would match the current one in the banking sector.
“My main concern is what will happen internationally, there will be food and water shortages,” he said.
“We’re relatively fortunate in the UK; there may not be shortages here, but we can expect prices of food and energy to rise.”
The United Nations Environment Programme predicts 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.
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