News | Population Matters | Every Choice Counts

Big Baby climate change event Parliament quare

3 December 2019

Big Baby calls for small families to cut CO2

With the critical COP25 climate change meeting opening in Madrid, Population Matters' 7m-high Big Baby brought a critical message to Westminster on Friday: cutting population growth through choosing smaller families is vital to fight climate change.

Climate

Environment

Families

UK population

World population

28 November 2019

Unmet needs: conversations with the women left behind

Population Matters' Director, Robin Maynard, summarises events at this month's Nairobi Summit on ICPD25, and recounts his experience of meeting young women and their families in Africa's largest slum and surrounding rural communities.

19 November 2019

70 is the new 65: a new way of looking at population ageing

A new analysis by the UK Office for National Statistics shows that estimating the number of life years remaining, rather than counting the years lived, could be a better way of measuring ageing and its implications for society.

Economics

UK population

11 November 2019

Time to talk population again

This week, representatives from Population Matters will attend one of the most significant global meetings on population and development in recent years, the Nairobi Summit on ICPD 25. They will be taking the message that securing sustainable population is an essential goal and that failure to recognise this has led to the promised benefits for people and the environment being delivered too little, too late.

8 November 2019

11,000 scientists call for population action to prevent catastrophic climate impacts

The Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency, signed by more than 11,000 scientists from around the world, warns of “untold human suffering” unless governments take urgent action to tackle the climate crisis, including ending and reversing population growth.

Climate

Environment

World population

4 November 2019

Cracking knuckles and counting kids

Population Matters’ Campaigns and Projects Officer, Florence Blondel, reflects on her family life in Uganda, and what it tells us about population growth in her home country, and across much of Africa. She also identifies some positive changes coming.

25 October 2019

Organic agriculture could increase climate emissions without changes in population and diet

A new study shows that converting all farmland in England and Wales to organic agriculture could increase greenhouse gas emissions because meeting the food demands of the UK population would require using more land abroad.

Climate

Environment

UK population

16 October 2019

Scientists call for improving contraceptive use to fight climate change

A new commentary article published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health urges wide-scale adoption of policies that increase the use of modern contraception as part of global efforts to reduce climate emissions.

8 October 2019

High population density hurts child health, study finds

A continent-wide analysis of how different development factors affect the health of children in Africa found that child health is worst in countries with high population densities.

Africa population

Environment

Family planning

4 October 2019

UK biodiversity report: more of us, less of them

The latest edition of the most authoritative report on biodiversity in the UK has just been released - State of Nature 2019. The 2016 version described the UK as "one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world". This new edition makes clear there has been no improvement - and shows some of the impacts of human population growth.

Biodiversity

Environment

UK population

1 October 2019

Four out of five women live in countries rated ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ for gender equality

A major new report on the state of gender equality in 129 countries reveals that women and girls continue to be discriminated against across the globe, with four out of five women living in the lowest scoring countries.

Development

Women's rights

Greta Thunberg and David Attenborough at UN Climate Action Summit

24 September 2019

UN Climate Action Summit fails to deliver climate action

The UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York City wrapped up yesterday, leaving many environmentalists feeling deeply disappointed. Despite pressure from youth activists led by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, a record-breaking attendance at last Friday’s global Climate Strike, and a call to action from Sir David Attenborough, world leaders yet again failed to make meaningful commitments.

Climate

Environment

World population

20 September 2019

Wildlife conservation is incompatible with human population growth

A major analysis found that while wildlife can benefit from sustainable development and economic growth, continued human population growth is incompatible with conservation goals.

12 September 2019

The World and the UN Must Reduce Population Growth

The United Nations' 17 Sustainable Development Goals imply that there is no longer any need to reduce global population growth, even though it is a serious problem that undermines most of the SDG targets. By adding a further SDG aimed at slowing the increase in population, the world could yet save the UN’s 2030 Agenda.

Development

World population

3 September 2019

The most powerful action to save the planet is the most neglected one

As well as being morally essential, achieving global gender equality would make an unparalleled contribution to improving lives, reducing emissions and halting the destruction of nature. So why does women's empowerment remain a chronically underfunded and overlooked solution?

23 August 2019

UK population bigger and greyer

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, show that the UK's population is 66.4 million people, and that the proportion of people past retirement age continues to grow. Do these changes in the UK matter?

Economics

Environment

UK population

7 August 2019

US loses ‘football field’ worth of nature every 30 seconds

A new report from the Center for American Progress (CAP) reveals that more than 24 million acres of nature have been lost from the contiguous United States between 2001 and 2017 due to human development; the equivalent of one football field every 30 seconds.

Biodiversity

Environment

US population

1 August 2019

A limit on royal babies? Prince Harry thinks small families are best, public agrees

Prince Harry’s recent comments on choosing a small family for the sake of the planet caused a welcome swell in media coverage of population issues. According to a survey, the majority of Brits agree with the Duke of Sussex that it is necessary to limit one’s family size for the environment, while newly released data on UK births confirms an ongoing trend towards smaller families.

24 July 2019

Despite economic growth, billions won’t have enough fruit and veg by 2050

A new Lancet study analysing the gap between future fruit and vegetable supply and recommended consumption levels found that even under the most optimistic socioeconomic growth scenarios, there won’t be enough to go around by mid-century.

17 July 2019

Going global on World Population Day

This World Population Day, 11 July 2019, Population Matters went global by running events in three continents. Thanks to our supporters and allies, we had a very successful day in Lagos, Nigeria, London, UK and New York, USA, raising awareness of population issues and pushing them up the international agenda.