Growing world population will cause a “perfect storm” of food, energy and water shortages by 2030, the UK government chief scientist Prof. John Beddington has warned. Demand for food and energy will jump 50% by 2030 and for fresh water by 30%, as the population tops 8.3 billion, Beddington told the Sustainable Development UK 09 conference in London. Climate change will exacerbate matters in unpredictable ways, he added. Better water storage and cleaner energy supplies are essential, Beddington said.

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. 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. The latest World Water Development Report [1] notes that demand for freshwater is increasing by 64 billion cubic metres a year. Yet 90% of the population growth of three billion expected by 2050 will be in developing countries, many in regions which already are water scarce.

[1] UN-Water (2009). 3rd United Nations World Water Development Report : water in a changing world (WWDR-3). Download here.

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• Peter McIntyre, Water moves sharply up the political agenda, Source Bulletin, Feb 2009
• Climate change: millions fear death as water resources are depleted, Tearfund report, Source Weekly, 23 Feb 2009

Source: Christine McGourty, BBC News, 19 Mar 2009

Tags: policies & legislation, water resources management