Global population soars toward 11 billion by 2100. Can Earth support growth?
The world鈥檚 current population of 7.3 billion people will reach up to 9.7 billion by 2050 and 11.2 billion by 2100, says John R. Wilmoth, director of the United Nations Population Division.
Speaking at Seattle鈥檚 annual Monday, Mr. Wilmoth said the world population is estimated to reach between 9.5 and 13.3 billion by the end of the century.
鈥�The projections stand in stark contrast to a widely held idea that the human population would peak in 2050 at about 9 billion,鈥� writes 海角大神鈥檚 Pete Spotts the first time the UN floated the possibility of hitting 11 billion people by the end of the century.
There is roughly a chance that the world鈥檚 population will stop growing within this century, the UN says.
Population experts predict the main factor behind the rise is a projected increase in Africa鈥檚 population. Today, the continent hosts 1.2 billion people, but that number will likely reach between 3.4 billion and 5.6 billion people by 2100.
The continent鈥檚 population will continue to soar unless fertility rates decline in sub-Saharan Africa, where some areas鈥� populations are growing at an exceedingly rapid rate.
鈥淵et this is where some of the poorest countries on the planet are 鈥� where energy demand will grow with development and where the effects of climate change will tax economies lacking the resources to effectively adapt,鈥� Mr. Spotts said.
The strain of unbridled population growth on the planet's finite resources comes into sharp focus this week as the planet approaches the so-called聽聽鈥� the day when the world's population uses up all the natural resources the Earth can generate in a single year as defined by the sustainability think tank, Global Footprint Network.
鈥淭his聽overshoot leads to a depletion of Earth鈥檚 life-supporting natural capital and a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere,鈥� reads the Overshootday.com website. The Global Footprint Network estimates that the current population demands the resources of 1.6 Earths.
With global population numbers on the rise, 鈥渋t means we still seem to be heading fast in the with the world gearing up to approve new sustainable development goals in New York, and a new climate accord in Paris,鈥� reports The Guardian.
