e migrant population in 2000 reached 13.5% of the world's population. 24 Environment Climate change is accelerating as energy consumption increases, in the EU at about 1.8% per year, expected to continue to 2035 with its concomitant pollutant affects as greenhouse gas emissions. The fastest increase is in Asia at 3% per annum - a 41% increase in emissions over the period 1973 to 2002 has already been seen. 25 North America is the largest energy consumer and polluter in 2005, but Asia is expected to be the largest energy consumer from 2010 on. 26 Climate change looks certain to increase sea levels with permanent loss of land, more floods, tidal waves and more hurricanes which will be more powerful due to average sea temperature rise and sea current changes, such as the el Nino affects, while forest fires increase and desertification spreads. Pollution is growing fastest in the developing world but remains high in the North American region. Food balance may be affected as grain and other crops are highly sensitive to average temperature rises and will drive trade in foodstuffs. Telecommunications infrastructure will be aimed at resisting the extreme effects of weather and also at alleviating the disasters as much as possible, and new types of infrastructure could offer much in operating during and after cataclysmic events. A need for a citizen's alert network as part of new infrastructure is likely to appear. Telecommuting could be increasingly important in OECD countries in terms of combating pollution through reductions in fuel consumption. INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030: TELECOM, LAND TRANSPORT, WATER AND ELECTRICITY - ISBN 92-64-02398-4 © OECD 2006 2. TELECOMS INFRASTRUCTURE TO 2030 Technology including telecommunications technology advances Conventional thinking on technology for telecommunications infrastructure is changing slowly as new generations and types of computerised technology replace the circuit switched, fixed wireline infrastructures with packet (radio- based) communications, so that complementary paralle