UNITED NATIONS (AP) — U.N. environment officials say nations must build "greener economies" or risk emptying oceans of fish and creating water shortages for two-fifths of the planet in coming decades.
A new report previewed by United Nations environment chief Achim Steiner says virtually all commercial fisheries could collapse by 2050 unless the world scales back $27 billion a year in fishing subsidies down to $8 billion a year.
It says water supplies could be 40 percent less than what are needed by 2030 if no improvements are made in water use — one of 11 areas the U.N. targets for improvement.
Scientists last year revised a 2006 study warning of a collapse in the world’s seafood stocks by 2048, saying the news isn’t quite as bad as predicted.
