by Agence France-Presse.
UNITED NATIONS—The warming Earth and the globalized
consumer society are becoming the biggest threats to future wealth and
happiness, the United Nations said Thursday.
Rich countries
“need to blaze the trail” on making economic growth less dependent on
fossil fuels and helping poor nations get onto the path of sustainable
development, said the annual Human Development Report, produced by the U.N.
Development Program.
Highlighting the
failure of last year’s Copenhagen climate summit, the report called for
international commitment at events such as the U.N.-sponsored climate talks to
be held in Cancun, Mexico, next month, “if we are to face up to what may
be the most serious threat the world has ever faced.”
The report,
entitled “The Real Wealth of Nations,” says that overall most of the
world has become wealthier, healthier, and better educated over the past 20
years that the study has been released.
But it added:
“The main threat to maintaining progress in human development comes from
the increasingly evident unsustainability of production and consumption
patterns.”
Also:
“Increased exposure to drought, floods, and environmental stress is a
major impediment to realizing people’s aspirations.”
With the world population
expected to hit 9 billion by 2050 and incomes rising, pressure on energy and
fuel sources will grow, the report said.
“Climate
change may be the single factor that makes the future very different, impeding
the continuing progress in human development that history would lead us to
expect.”
And rising wheat
prices could have “massive repercussions.” In a worst-case
scenario, by 2050 per capita consumption of cereals could fall by a fifth,
leaving 25 million additional children malnourished, with South Asia the worst
affected, the report said.
With
the international financial crisis still being felt, “the continuing
reliance on fossil fuels is threatening irreparable damage to our environment
and to the human development of future generations,” said the report.
“These developments pose serious questions about the long-run feasibility
of the world’s current production and consumption patterns.”
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