Senior World Bank officials warned on Wednesday that a swelling population by 2050 required the world to spend more on science, technology and infrastructure, reports the Banks press review.
Ian Johnson, the World Banks vice president for sustainable development, said governments had to prepare now for looming social, economic and environmental pressures that come with enormous population growth.
By the middle of the century, the world population is expected to grow to 9 billion from 6 billion now, Johnson said at a news conference marking the release of a World Bank book titled Responsible Growth for the New Millennium.
– We are likely to see great pressure on agricultural consumption and on the environment. The world needs to think beyond the global millennium targets to cut poverty in half by 2015, he said.
Global income will balloon to 135 trillion US dollar from $35 trillion, and “any sustainable economic growth will have with it an increased demand on infrastructure,” Johnson said.
– That is a major chunk of something and that something has yet to be planned for, designed, implemented, built, he said. The building of roads, power plants, railroads and water supply systems takes time to plan, Johnson said.
Scientific research is also necessary to improve agricultural output and make crops more resistant to climate change and disease.
Kilde: www.worldbank.org
