§ Mr. AllenTo ask the Prime Minister what estimate he has made of global population by 2050; how many people there will be affected by(a) drought and (b) flooding; how many are so affected now; and if he will make a statement on his recent discussions on these issues with G7 leaders. [7309]
§ The Prime MinisterThe UN, in its document "State of the world population 2001", estimates that the world population will increase to 9.3 billion by 2050. At present, around 1 billion people are affected by drought and desertification. There are no independent estimates for this figure in 2050. There are no reliable figures for the total population affected by flooding as the numbers vary quite considerably from year to year.
I discussed the subject of climate change and the Kyoto protocol with the other G7 leaders and President Putin at the G8 summit in Genoa in July.