Earth faces a ‘dark future’ unless urgent action is taken to tackle climate change, IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned on Tuesday.
She said that ‘we will be toasted, roasted and grilled’ if the world fails to take ‘critical decisions’ on climate change in the next 50 years.
The IMF director also called for tackling inequality between men and women, as well as between countries that are ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.
Earth faces a ‘dark future’ unless urgent action is taken to tackle climate change, IMF chief Christine Lagarde warned on Tuesday. She said that ‘we will be toasted, roasted and grilled’ if the world fails to take ‘critical decisions’ on climate change in the next 50 years (stock image)
If the world wants a future that ‘looks like utopia and not dystopia’, it needs to address such concerns, Ms Lagarde said.
‘If we don’t address these issues… we will be moving to a dark future’ in the next five decades, she told a major economic conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
She predicted that in 50 years’ time, oil will be a secondary commodity.
In 2015, around 195 nations signed the Paris climate agreement which set measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to prevent temperatures rising by more than two degrees in around 50 years.
But US President Donald Trump announced in June the start of a three-year process to pull out of the pact, arguing that it would put the US at an economic disadvantage.
His move faced fierce criticism from world leaders and activists, with former UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon accusing Trump of ‘standing on the wrong side of history’.
In a statement following her visit, Lagarde praised Saudi reform efforts and moves to address the economic effects of persistently low oil prices.
‘Saudi Arabia is also undertaking reforms to reduce constraints to women entering the workforce,’ Lagarde said in the statement, pointing to a recent decision to allow women to drive.
Female entrepreneurship could be boosted through fiscal incentives and other policies, she added.
The IMF chief also called for tackling inequality between men and women, as well as between countries that are ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’. Pictured is Christine Lagarde (centre) and Aramco president and CEO Amin Nasser (right) at the conference in Riyadh
The IMF chief’s comments come after research last month suggested there is a 1-in-20 chance that climate change will wipe out humanity by 2100.
US researchers said we’ll likely be wiped out in the next 100 years as a result of ‘low-probability high-impact’ events.
Experts from the University of California said an increase greater than 3°C could lead to ‘catastrophic’ effects, while an increase of more than 5°C will have ‘unknown’ consequences which could lead to the end of life as we know it.
Lead researcher Professor Veerabhadran Ramanathan said: ‘When we say five per cent-probability high-impact events, people may dismiss it as small but it is equivalent to a one-in-20 chance the plane you are about to board will crash.’