Climate change will not feed 25 million children

Some 25 million children go hungry in the next four decades by the food shortages that cause rising temperatures, have warned at the meeting of the UN climate change being held in Bangkok source International Research Institute for Food Policy (IFPRI, for its acronym in English).

"This tragedy can be avoided with an investment of about 6140 million per year to increase agricultural productivity and help farmers to address the effects of global warming," said Gerald Nelson, an author of the report of IFPRI.

"Better roads, irrigation systems, access to potable water and schooling for girls are essential," added Nelson, under the climate change conference held in Bangkok to prepare for the Copenhagen summit in December.

The study says that people in developing countries have access to 2410 calories per day in 2050, 286 calories less than in 2000; in Africa will be 392 less, and in industrialized countries below 250.
Revueltas polulares by food shortages

Last year, the rising price of basic foods at the news of production shortfalls caused popular riots in various parts of the world, from Egypt to Thailand and the UN decided to hold an urgent meeting.

The G-20 leaders agreed last week in Pittsburgh (USA) 1,400 million euros donated to fight hunger, while the UN announced a summit on the issue in November.

The secretary general of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon pressed the weekend World Bank and other multilateral institutions to increase their contributions to the third world, in a time when "most people still lack access to food because prices are incredibly high because of the economic crisis and lack of rain. "

Nelson believes that the food crisis last year, when reports of shortages of basic foods sparked protests in many poor and emerging countries, was a wakeup call.

Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda suffer from soaring food prices because of poor harvests and drought, because there are parts of the world that show signs of vulnerability to climate change and changing rainfall cycles, according to IFPRI.

"The Earth's population will be 50% higher than today in 2050 (...) the challenges are enormous even without climate change," added the researcher.

For Lester Brown, founder of Earth Policy Institute, food is also the most worrying issue of climate change and noted that Asia is at the epicenter of the crisis.

First, some 2,500 million people or about half of the economically active population in rich countries depended on agriculture for their livelihoods, according to 2005 data.

And on the other, 75% of the poor worldwide live in rural areas most vulnerable to climate changes. "If we continue doing things as we have done until now, we certainly ensuring disastrous consequences," Nelson warned.

Some 4,000 delegates from 179 countries are attending the Bangkok conference, which began last Monday and ending on October 9. The achievements and obstacles to the Bangkok meeting will be held in Barcelona in November to finalize and close the agenda of the Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen.