The British daily “The Guardian” writes about the latest report from the Club of Rome. The report predicts that, based on current trends, the world’s population will peak at 8.8 billion before mid-century and decline rapidly thereafter. This assessment differs from UN projections, which predicted that the world’s population would reach 9.7 billion by mid-century and continue to grow over the coming decades.
The report assumes two scenarios. In a more environmentally harmful version, in the record year of 2046, the Earth will be inhabited by 9 billion people.then this number will begin to decrease, reaching 7.3 billion in 2100. In the optimistic version, the peak will come six years earlier and will be lower: in this scenario, the maximum number of people will be 8.5 billion and this will happen already in 2040. The decline of the population will be a faster process: by 2100 its number will fall to about 6 billion – reports the Guardian.
New demographic forecasts. Will the population start to decline in the middle of the 21st century?
The new forecasts, released Monday, were prepared by the Earth4All group, which brings together several leading scientific and economic institutions dealing with environmental protection. These forecasts were commissioned by the Club of Rome as a follow-up to the “Limits to Growth” study carried out more than 50 years ago. However, the report was prepared using a modified methodology, also taking into account issues such as increasing the level of education, especially of women, and increasing income.
The Club of Rome is a think tank founded in 1968, bringing together scientists, politicians and businessmen, concerned with the study of global problems, particularly those related to the environment.
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