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UN Expert: 50 Million Displaced From Climate Change

Bali, Indonesia, Dec 12 (Prensa Latina) Top UN climate official Yves de Boer warned on Wednesday that by 2010 the consequences of climate change can displace 50 million people due to desertification and deforestation. De Boer, executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said at the opening of the high-level UN climate change conference in the Indonesian resort of Bali, that competing for energy and food could lead to ethnic rivalries and regional conflicts. The expert upheld that to meet the drastic increase in the world’s demand for energy, a massive investment of 20 trillion US dollars is needed until 2030. He explained that more than half of these investments are required in developing countries, where energy is needed for economic growth. The UN official also warned the international community that at the current rate global emissions of greenhouse gases will increase by 50 percent in 2050 instead of decreasing by 50 percent.

De Boer quoted reports from the UN Nobel prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that by 2020, between 75 million and 250 million people in Africa are expected to be exposed to increased water stress due to climate change. In this context, he added that by the 2050s, freshwater availability for millions in Asia will be threatened, because glaciers that provide drinking water are melting.

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