Growing number of cars to have cascading effect on economy: Brown

NEW DELHI: With the growing number of vehicles in India and China set to heighten oil consumption in the region, the eventual fuel shortage would cause a cascading effect on the economy of the two countries, noted environmentalist Lester R Brown claimed here on Thursday.

"Oil production is declining and snowballing the rise in prices worldwide. At this juncture, if people here keep on turning to more cars and vehicles, it will cast a cascading effect on their economies," Brown said.

The environmentalist was speaking at the launch of his new study "Plan B 3.0: Mobility to Save the Civilisation".

Brown, who is also the President and Founder of US-based Earth Policy Institute, said, "the major share of global oil production is being used for transportation purpose. And as this demand is increasing day by day, it skyrockets the prices of both the oil and the commodities."

He asked India and China to come forward to take up the responsibility of curtailing carbon emission to protect the environment.

Advocating individual initiative in controlling CHG in post-Kyoto Protocol period, he said, "Governments should individually start moving ahead on their own and take concrete steps in checking the poisonous emission."

Enlisting other environment-related menaces before the society, Brown said melting glaciers, rapid growth in global population and deforestation were major problems.

"Of late, the Greenland ice sheet is melting so fast that huge chunks of ice are breaking off and sliding into the sea, triggering minor earthquakes and this can eventually raise the sea level by up to 23 feet," he said.