Global warming is causing more than 300,000 deaths and about$125 billion in economic losses each year,according to a report by the Global Humanitarian Forum,an organization led by Annan,the former United Nations secretary general.

The report,to be released Friday,analyzed data and existing studies of health,disaster,population and economic trends.It found that human-influenced climate change was raising the global death rates from illnesses including malnutrition and heat-related health problems.

But even before its release,the report drew criticism from some experts on climate and risk,who questioned its methods and conclusions.

Along with the deaths,the report said that the lives of 325 million people,primarily in poor countries,were being seriously affected by climate change.It projected that the number would double by 2030.

Roger Pielke Jr.,a political scientist at the University of Colorado,Boulder,who studies disaster trends,said the Forum's report was"a methodological embarrassment"because there was no way to distinguish deaths or economic losses related to human-driven global warming amid the much larger losses resulting from the growth in populations and economic development in vulnerable regions.Dr.Pielke said that“climate change is an important problem requiring our utmost attention.”But the report,he said,"will harm the cause for action on both climate change and disasters because it is so deeply flawed."

However,Soren Andreasen,a social scientist at Dalberg Global Development Partners who supervised the writing of the report,defended it,saying that it was clear that the numbers were rough estimates.He said the report was aimed at world leaders,who will meet in Copenhagen in December to negotiate a new international climate treaty.

In a press release describing the report,Mr.Annan stressed the need for the negotiations to focus on increasing the flow of money from rich to poor regions to help reduce their vulnerability to climate hazards while still curbing the emissions of the heat-trapping gases.More than 90%of the human and economic losses from climate change are occurring in poor countries,according to the report.

What is Soren Andreasen's view of the report?

• A.Its conclusions are based on carefully collected data
• B.It is vulnerable to criticism if the statistics are closely examined
• C.It will give rise to heated discussions at the Copenhagen conference
• D.Its rough estimates are meant to draw the attention of world leaders