Material solutions for growing population

Growing population, growing problems

With a global population of around seven billion that is expected to increase by another two billion by the middle of the century, life on earth is going to change dramatically. There is a need for new concepts and products to improve accommodation, food supply, mobility and the use of the scarce resources. High tech materials can help.

The number of people living in cities in Asia and Africa is growing at a rate of one million per week.

As well as the population explosion, there is a new pattern of distribution for this growth, with much taking place in the poorest of nations – the number of people living in cities in Asia and Africa is growing at a rate of one million per week.

Rapid urbanization

By 2030, some five billion people will live in urban areas. In 1960 there were only two megacities – by 2015 there will be 26. With so many of the world’s population set to migrate, the solutions required go far beyond bricks and mortar. As more people are producing more climate-damaging substances which accelerate global warming, the need for renewable forms of energy has never been clearer. The same is true for energy-saving buildings.

The world needs sustainable solutions for mobility, food wastage and a lack in basic necessities such as clean drinking water due to pipe corrosion. People are getting older and need more care. Products from Bayer MaterialScience can help provide answers to many of these questions – for example by retrofitting buildings, optimizing the cool chain or helping to minimize emissions from cars.