Overpopulation bigger risk than climate, says UNESCO scientist
The recently appointed chief of sustainable water resources development for UNESCO says that the growing human population poses a greater risk to the planet than climate change.
Professor Shahbaz Khan observed that while climate change is only one problem – albeit not a trivial one – population growth is a more urgent crisis because we are unlikely to have the land, food, or water resources to support the future population. Khan pointed out that the price of rice in Thailand has quadrupled over the last 4 years, and India has banned rice exports in a drive to ensure sufficient supplies for its own people.
Overpopulation, while clearly an element in virtually every human-related crisis on the planet – rising food and energy prices, pollution, deforestation, conflicts over resources – is a controversial topic and for that reason goes largely ignored in the political arena.














