The UN warns that for every increase of one degree globally, grain yields fall by about five per cent.
Advances in technology and management have meant that total yields of maize, wheat and other major crops have increased, but they would have increased more — by 40 megatonnes per year between 1981 and 2002 — in the absence of climate change.
That implies that already in 1981, the world grew 3 % less grain and in 2002, 2 % less grain, than it would have, but for a warming world.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm up by as much as 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2040.
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.
To limit ourselves to 1.5°C with no overshoot, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions should reduce by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, and should reach net-zero around 2050. We also need serious cuts to non-CO2 emissions. Both methane and black carbon need to be reduced by 35 per cent or more of 2010 levels by 2050.
If strong action to curb use of fossil fuels isnt taken, decline in crop yields, unprecedented climate extremes and increased susceptibility could push poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050.
Advances in technology and management have meant that total yields of maize, wheat and other major crops have increased, but they would have increased more — by 40 megatonnes per year between 1981 and 2002 — in the absence of climate change.
That implies that already in 1981, the world grew 3 % less grain and in 2002, 2 % less grain, than it would have, but for a warming world.
If greenhouse gas emissions continue at the current rate, the atmosphere will warm up by as much as 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels by 2040.
The latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists convened by the United Nations to guide world leaders, describes a world of worsening food shortages and wildfires, and a mass die-off of coral reefs as soon as 2040 — a period well within the lifetime of much of the global population.
To limit ourselves to 1.5°C with no overshoot, global net anthropogenic CO2 emissions should reduce by about 45 per cent from 2010 levels by 2030, and should reach net-zero around 2050. We also need serious cuts to non-CO2 emissions. Both methane and black carbon need to be reduced by 35 per cent or more of 2010 levels by 2050.
If strong action to curb use of fossil fuels isnt taken, decline in crop yields, unprecedented climate extremes and increased susceptibility could push poverty by up to several hundred million by 2050.
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