{"id":907447,"date":"2026-05-22T08:12:16","date_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:12:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/nobel-laureate-mohan-munasinghe-warns-globe-is-closer-to-nuclear-world-war-3-amid-energy-economic-crisis\/"},"modified":"2026-05-22T08:12:16","modified_gmt":"2026-05-22T13:12:16","slug":"nobel-laureate-mohan-munasinghe-warns-globe-is-closer-to-nuclear-world-war-3-amid-energy-economic-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/22\/nobel-laureate-mohan-munasinghe-warns-globe-is-closer-to-nuclear-world-war-3-amid-energy-economic-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinghe warns globe is closer to ‘nuclear World War 3’ amid energy, economic crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home<\/a><\/span>World News<\/a><\/span>Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinghe warns globe is closer to ‘nuclear World War 3’ amid energy, economic crisis<\/span><\/p>\n

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Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinghe says rising geopolitical tensions, surging military expenditure and weak global leadership are increasing risks to the world economy, while climate inaction and supply chain disruptions threaten food and energy security.<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
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<\/span>3 Min Read<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Nobel<\/p>\n

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Nobel Laureate and climate expert Mohan Munasinghe has warned that the world is closer to \u201cnuclear World War Three\u201d than ever before, cautioning that escalating geopolitical tensions, rising military spending and deepening economic stress could push the global economy into another major crisis.<\/p>\n

\nSpeaking to CNBC-TV18, Munasinghe said the risks facing the world today go far beyond regional conflicts and are beginning to threaten global economic stability, energy security and food supplies.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cWe are, to put it in a nutshell, closer to nuclear World War Three than we have ever been before,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are enough nuclear bombs to wipe out humanity not 10 times, but 1,000 times over.\u201d<\/p>\n

\nMunasinghe said the ongoing tensions in the Middle East, especially around the Gulf of Hormuz, could trigger a severe global economic downturn through disruptions in energy and commodity markets. He warned that the world could face shortages not only in oil and gas but also in fertilisers, grains and industrial materials critical for manufacturing.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThere are near-term fixes, but they may not be applied,\u201d he said, adding that the lack of responsible global leadership was worsening the crisis.<\/p>\n

\nAccording to Munasinghe, the impact on agriculture could become severe as supply disruptions and geopolitical instability affect crop production cycles already strained by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. He pointed out that nearly 800 million people globally continue to face hunger, even as advanced economies waste large amounts of food.<\/p>\n

\nHe also criticised rising global military expenditure at a time when climate risks and poverty continue to intensify. \u201cCurrently, $2 trillion \u2014 10 times or more than what we spend on helping the poor,\u201d he said while referring to global defence spending. \u201cWhy do we spend 10 times more on killing people or on destruction rather than saving people?\u201d<\/p>\n

\nMunasinghe argued that geopolitical competition and the influence of arms lobbies were pushing nations towards prolonged conflicts rather than cooperation on climate and development goals.<\/p>\n

\nHis comments come at a time when climate accountability is increasingly becoming a global legal and political issue. The United Nations recently adopted a resolution stating that countries have a legal obligation to address climate change following a landmark opinion by the International Court of Justice.<\/p>\n

\"CNBCTV18\"<\/p>\n

Also Read | Climate action must make business sense, not just policy sense: Piyush Goyal<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

\nThe United States, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Israel, Iran, Yemen, Liberia and Belarus were among the eight countries that opposed the resolution, while India, Turkey, Qatar and Nigeria abstained. Countries including Australia, Germany, France and the United Kingdom voted in favour.<\/p>\n

\nAnt\u00f3nio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said governments have a responsibility to protect citizens from the escalating climate crisis.<\/p>\n

\nLast year, the International Court of Justice said countries must prevent harm to the climate system and warned that failure to act could result in compensation claims and other legal consequences.<\/p>\n

\nMunasinghe also cautioned that while technologies such as artificial intelligence could improve productivity and create new business opportunities, they could also leave millions behind if governments fail to invest in reskilling workers.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cAI, or digital technology, is a double-edged sword,\u201d he said. \u201cThe downside is clearly that a lot of people are going to get left behind.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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(Edited by : Ajay Vaishnav)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

Read More<\/a>
\n Swapnil Deshpande<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home World News Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinghe warns globe is closer to ‘nuclear World War 3’ amid energy, economic crisis Nobel Laureate Mohan Munasinghe says rising geopolitical tensions, surging military expenditure and weak global leadership are increasing risks to the world economy, while climate inaction and supply chain disruptions threaten food and energy security. 3<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":907448,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97014,3473],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-907447","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-laureate","8":"category-nobel"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=907447"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/907447\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/907448"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=907447"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=907447"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=907447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}