Air pollution is set to cause increasing numbers of early deaths in the coming decades, including in rich countries, a “grim” report on the environment has warned.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) also cautioned yesterday that without changes to government policies, emissions would rise by 50 per cent by 2050, putting the world on course for three- to six-degree rises by 2100.
The organisation’s outlook to 2050 projected further losses in wildlife and pressure on natural resources, including fresh water.
“This is a very grim report. It suggests that we are not steering in the right direction,” said OECD environment director Simon Upton.
With nearly 70 per cent of the world’s population living in cities by 2050, air pollution will overtake poor sanitation and dirty water as the main environmental cause of premature deaths, it states.
The report found that by 2050, climate change would be the biggest driver of loss in nature, with wildlife declining by 10 per cent on land and further losses to freshwater wildlife on top of the one-third loss already seen. – (PA)