OECD warns of rising sea levels and water shortages by 2050

Dried-up riverbeds like this one in I photographed in Australia could be a common sight by 2050

There seems to be no shortage of warnings that we need drastic emissions cuts soon to halt climate change. This week the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) brought out its Environmental Outlook to 2050. It confirms that if emissions keep rising as they forecast, the rise in the global temperature will be way above the two degrees target. This would spell disaster for a lot of low-lying coastal areas around the globe.

The trouble is people could get so used to hearing the warnings that they just switch off, especially if you’re living in an area where you don’t sense any immediate threat. But if you live in one of the Pacific island states like Kiribati, which has been in the news recently with its government considering moving the population to Fiji, this is already an existential problem. The highest point on these islands is just three metres above sea level.(See Climate Change and Kiribati).

The report also warns of acute water shortages in many regions of the world.

The prospects for the not-too-distant future are anything but confidence-inspiring, unless we make some drastic changes to our lifestyle and consumption – fast.