ALAPPUZHA: Muralee Thummarukudy, chief of Disaster Risk Reduction, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has said a major existential crisis is awaiting humanity in the near future.
He was speaking at an international webinar on ‘Alternative livelihood programmes in the post-Covid era’ organised by the Centre for Research on Aquatic Resources and Internal Quality Assurance Cell of SD College, Alappuzha, on Saturday.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has quickly transformed from being a health crisis to an economic crisis and further to a livelihood crisis which is unprecedented in human history. Global economy has shrunk and over 50% of jobs have been affected. Coupled with climate change and rapid developments in AI, robotics, 3D printing and IoT, Covid is expected to result in a 46% job loss by 2030, as per the Future of Jobs report of the World Economic Forum released last week,” he said.
“Future employment would be in ‘green jobs’ such as resource recovery from wastes, renewable energy and sustainable tourism. UNEP has recommended ecosystem-based adaptation and disaster risk reduction. India should get its act together and start implementing long-term projects to avert the crisis,” he said.