LONDON, July 12 (UPI) — A major study of the world’s growing population and its possible future social and economic impacts is being launched in Britain, scientists say.
Britain’s Royal Society will conduct the study, led by by Nobel laureate Sir John Sulston, who was previously involved with the Human Genome Project, the BBC reported Sunday.
The world’s population has grown from 2 billion in 1930 to 6.8 billion, and is expected to hit 9 billion by 2050, the BBC said.
Explosive human population growth is seen as one of the underlying causes of environmental issues such as climate change, deforestation, depletion of water resources and loss of biodiversity.
“This is a topic that has gone to and fro in the last few decades, and appears to be moving back up the political agenda now,” Sulston said.
The study will involve experts on the environment, agriculture, economics, law and theology, drawn from a mix of rich and poor countries including the United Kingdom, China, Brazil and the United States, the BBC reported.
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