Professor of the University of Amsterdam (Netherlands) Louise Fresco named the countries, the climatic conditions in which can improve as a result of global warming. A specialist in the field of sustainable agricultural development during the third International Youth Ag-Summit 2017, held in Brussels (Belgium) from October 9 to 13, 2017, told the Lenta.ru correspondent.
“The public often gets the impression that global warming is always a bad thing. In some cases, this is not the case. Areas of growing crops are shifting. Russia, China and, in particular, Canada will benefit … This (global warming - Lenta.ru note) is not negative for Russia, the expert noted. However, as Fresco said in an interview with reporters, for a significant number of countries in the world, global warming is dangerous. In her opinion, climate change on the planet will occur quickly, but further research is needed to accurately assess their timing and consequences.
The goal of the Global Youth Ag-Summit is to draw the attention of society, especially young people, to food security, the problem of hunger on the planet, food for the growing population of the Earth and the rational use of resources. The summit is being held for the third time and is being organized by the international concern Bayer. In 2017, the Groene Kring youth association and the Fédération des Jeunes Agriculteurs became partners of the company.
One hundred delegates (18-25 years old) from 49 countries of the world take part in the Global Youth Ag-Summit 2017. The selection of participants who are considered potential leaders in the agriculture of the future was carried out on the basis of an essay competition on the topic "How to provide food for the growing world population?" Russia is represented at the event by three delegates: Yulia Moiseeva (Nizhny Novgorod), Darina Serdyukova (Stavropol) and Yulia Petushkova (Omsk).
Earlier, scientists from the Vladimir Sukachev Institute of Forest of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences showed that by the 2080s "Siberia will be characterized by a milder and more temperate climate with less coverage of permafrost", as a result of which there will be suitable conditions for growing "thermophilic crops - fruits, watermelons, berries, corn for grain, some grape varieties that can withstand the still harsh winter conditions."
On the other hand, due to global warming, the climatic conditions for human life are expected to worsen in most regions of the planet. In particular, by 2050 in the Middle East and North Africa, summer daytime temperatures will reach 46 degrees Celsius, and the average summer temperature at night will not be lower than 30 degrees (in the optimistic forecast). An increase in the duration of droughts and an increase in the frequency of sandstorms can provoke massive migrations of the population of these territories. Another study shows that 60 years from now, it will become impossible to find people outside air-conditioned rooms in the Gulf countries. The World Bank has predicted that GDP in the Middle East will shrink by more than 14 percent by 2050 due to lack of fresh water.