By 2020, the global population is expected to grow by 5.6 billion people.
A quarter of that growth is expected in China, the world’s second-largest economy.
But it’s a rapidly changing planet that could see a big shift in the energy economy.
It’s a shift that has already been happening.
By 2020 the global average temperature will be nearly a degree Celsius above pre-industrial times, according to NASA.
That’s roughly one-third of the rise in the global temperature in the last century.
The trend is already happening, says Bill Gossage, a climate scientist at the University of Queensland.
“If we keep this going at the current pace, the temperature is projected to rise by about 0.2 degrees Celsius by the end of the century,” he says.
“This means that the world will be at a critical point in terms of climate.”
That’s a big deal because the world has only recently begun to experience major impacts from global warming, including extreme weather events like droughts, wildfires, sea-level rise and rising sea levels.
“The amount of heat energy we’ve produced is equivalent to a very, very large amount of energy used by the entire human population,” says Gossages, who’s also an author of a new book, The Energy Future of the World, published by Oxford University Press.
Gossagers research has shown that the most rapid growth of population is not in China or India, but in places like the United States, Brazil and South Africa, where the population has been growing faster than the world average for years. “
And this is going to happen more quickly than you can imagine.”
Gossagers research has shown that the most rapid growth of population is not in China or India, but in places like the United States, Brazil and South Africa, where the population has been growing faster than the world average for years.
But that’s not to say the world isn’t warming.
The globe is already at a point where a major climate change event, like a droughty sea, will be catastrophic, says Ginseng.
It will be a major threat to the future of the planet and to human life.
“It is going do more damage to the environment and the economy than the last ice age,” he adds.
Gosss research suggests that the fastest rate of population growth in the next 100 years is in the United Kingdom.
“At the moment, the United Kingdons are the most populous country in the world,” he explains.
“They have the largest population growth.
But in 20 years time, they’re going to be the poorest.
And they’re also going to get hit hard by a sea level rise.”
Ginsberg says it’s very likely that the United Kings are the first to experience an ice age if there’s no significant warming.
And that will lead to massive economic losses, he says, particularly if the United Kingdoms continues to rely on oil, gas and coal for its energy needs.
“A lot of those resources are being tapped out,” he said.
“You’re going back to the Stone Age of energy extraction and extraction.
And this is not something that’s going to make any difference.”