Population and Climate Change (original) (raw)
2022, Discussion Paper, Sustainable Population Australia
Key Points: 1 Human activities are releasing greenhouse gases and causing climate change. The quantity of greenhouse gases is the product of emissions per person multiplied by the population. Hence climate change can’t be ‘blamed’ on either consumption patterns or population but both together: each multiplies the other and both must be part of action to avoid catastrophic outcomes. 2 Population growth increases people’s vulnerability to climate change in many ways. Globally, water and food insecurity are already increasing due to population pressure. More people mean more housing vulnerable to floods, bushfires and storm damage; rapid growth leads to inadequate infrastructure; larger and denser cities raise the urban heat-island effect and increase disease transmission. 3 The future challenges of climate change, including emissions reduction and adaptation, can be lessened by minimising further population growth. In developed countries like Australia, having fewer children is the most impactful lifestyle choice available to individuals to lessen their environmental impact. High immigration also increases emissions, since most migrants to Australia shift to more carbon-intensive lifestyles. 4 High population growth in low-income countries can cause environmental impacts such as deforestation and soil degradation. These not only accelerate climate change by reducing carbon stores in forests and soils, but also reduce the capacity of the local food production system to adapt to the changing climate. Lower population growth in low-income countries will help increase their standard of living, while minimising the growth of total emissions as their per capita emissions rise. 5 In high-fertility countries, voluntary family planning services are severely underfunded and under-promoted, leaving many women without the means to avoid pregnancies they don’t want. Providing these services, empowering women and promoting small families would have multiple benefits for communities coping with climate change. Family planning programs are a ‘best buy’ for development, environment and climate adaptation. 6 Climate mitigation models show that sufficient emissions reduction cannot be achieved unless the model scenarios assume a rapid peak and decline in global population. Population stabilisation alone can’t solve climate change, but ignoring population will ensure we fail.
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