China will face food and drinking water shortages in the coming decades because of global warming, an official report warns.
The country, which emits a quarter of the world’s greenhouse gases, is heading for famines, floods and droughts as rising temperatures cause havoc with its weather.
The Chinese climate change report predicts crops will be down 20% by 2050. It says the country – population 1.4 billion – must take measures to deal with the crisis.
Global warming will threaten the prosperity of what will be the bigggest economy in the world.
“China faces extremely grim ecological and environmental conditions under the impact of continued global warming and changes to China’s regional environment.” says the 710-page report.
That will have a big knock-on effect on how China is able to feed itself. Global warming fed by greenhouse gases from industry, transport and shifting land-use poses a long-term threat to China’s prosperity, health and food output, says the report.
Under different scenarios of greenhouse gas levels and their effects, by the end of this century China’s average atmospheric temperature will have risen by between 2.5 degrees and 4.6 degrees Celsius above the average for 1961-1990. » Read more: China issues grim warning on effects of climate change
