Scientists warn of climate's threat to food
Tuesday, 10 Jun 2008 03:01
Food supplies face increasing threats from climate change, scientists say
Supplies of food and water will be less secure in the future unless governments worldwide act to reduce the threats they face, leading scientists warned today.
The national academies of science from the G8 nations along with Brazil, China, India, Mexico and South Africa have issued a statement outlining the main threats to food and water supplies.
These include climate change, which the statement says will harm water resources, food supply, health, coastal settlements and ecosystems such as the Arctic, the tundra, the Alps and coral reefs.
The scientists are calling for concrete action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which lead to global warming, and for adaption to the changes already being caused by climate change.
Their statement was delivered to the Japanese government, which is hosting the next G8 meeting on July 7th to 9th.
"Food and water shortages are now a dangerous reality particularly in many developing countries," said Lord Martin Rees, president of the UK's Royal Society.
"In the coming years, they will be aggravated by rising populations, and climate change. These threats must be properly assessed and solutions identified if we are to avoid costly mistakes from investing in technologies and infrastructure that do not take climate change into account."
He added: "So much is at stake that current efforts are quite inadequate. The nations at the G8 summit should commit themselves to a much expanded and coordinated programme.
"The sooner this technology can be proven and widely adopted, and annual carbon dioxide emissions stopped from rising, the lower the risk of catastrophic climate change."