Su Bilgi,Water, Life, Nature, Enviorment Friendly Technologies, Marine Industry, Electrical cars, Olive oil, health, tea, coffee, natural water, recyclye

Population Change : Another Big Influence on Climate Change

Changes in population, including aging and urbanization, could significantly affect global emissions of carbon dioxide over the next 40 years, according to a new study.

The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), was conducted by researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration. It was funded by a European Young Investigator's Award*, the Hewlett Foundation, and the US National Science Foundation

By mid-century it is estimated that global population could rise by more than three billion people, with most of that increase occurring in urban areas. The study showed that a slowing of that population growth could contribute to significantly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. By 2050, the researchers found that if population followed one of the slower growth paths foreseen as plausible by demographers at the United Nations, it could provide 16 to 29 percent of the emission reductions thought necessary to keep global temperatures from causing serious impacts. The effect of slower population growth on greenhouse gas emissions would be even larger by the end of the century.

SHARE |

If global population growth slows down, it is not going to solve the climate problem, but it can make a contribution, especially in the long term," says the study's lead author and NCAR scientist Brian O'Neill.

Study co-author and IIASA scientist Shonali Pachauri says that slower population growth will have different influences, depending on where it occurs. A slowing of population growth in developing countries today will have a large impact on future global population size. However, slower population growth in developed countries will matter to emissions too because of higher per capita energy use says Dr Pachauri

Scientists have long known that changes in population will have some effect on greenhouse gas emissions, but there has been debate on how large that effect might be.

The researchers sought to quantify how demographic changes influence emissions over time, and in which regions of the world. They also went beyond changes in population size to examine the links between aging, urbanization, and emissions

The team found that growth in urban populations could lead to as much as a 25 percent rise in projected carbon dioxide emissions in some developing countries. The increased economic growth associated with city dwellers was directly correlated with increased emissions, largely due to the higher productivity and consumption preferences of an urban labor force.

In contrast, aging can reduce emission levels by up to 20 percent in some industrialized countries. This is because older populations are associated with lower labor force participation, and the resulting lower productivity leads to lower economic growth.
Demography will matter to greenhouse gas emissions over the next 40 years," says O'Neill. "Urbanization will be particularly important in many developing countries, especially China and India, and aging will be important in industrialized countries.

Tag not found.

Source: Science Daily

click here to continue article

read 340 times.

Prior News