Written question asked by Graham Allen (Labour) on Friday, 5 October 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 15 October 2001. It was answered by Tony Blair (Labour) on Monday, 15 October 2001 on behalf of the Prime Minister.

Prime Minister

Question: To 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. - Inc figures and ref to UN document 'State of the World Population 2001'.

Answer: Mr. Allen: To 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 Minister: The 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.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 7309; 372 c818W;372 c817W
Session: 2001-02
Subjects: Climate change Droughts Floods Natural disasters Population G7 Population studies
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk