News from Population Matters.
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Child marriage in the US: where is the outrage?
Girls as young as ten are legally getting married in the United States – nearly 300,000 since 2000, according to a new report by Unchained At Last. With no protective federal law in place, over 20 states allow for child marriage at 16 years, and 10 have no age limit whatsoever. Population Matters Outreach Coordinator…
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Jonathon Porritt: Still hot on the campaign trail
To celebrate Earth Day in Population Matters’ 30th anniversary year, activist Stella Wright from our London group asks our President, Jonathon Porritt, some searching questions about the population issue and the future. Stella Wright: You’ve been a Patron of Population Matters for more than 10 years, and a long-term campaigner surrounding population issues. Has the subject…
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Troubled Waters: Population growth and climate change
The theme of this year’s World Water Day is ‘valuing water’. The impact of the climate crisis and population growth alongside lack of progress towards Sustainable Development Goal 6: ‘Water and sanitation for all’ shows we have a long way to go to learn the true value of the world’s most invaluable resource, writes Population Matters…
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To save biodiversity, we must transform our food systems
A major new analysis highlights that current food production and consumption patterns are the biggest driver of biodiversity loss, and proposes three key actions to turn the tide and create a healthier future: a shift towards more plant-based diets, setting aside more land as protected areas, and adopting more sustainable farming methods. What the report…
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New report: transform economy to save nature
Our economic and financial system is driving biodiversity loss and requires massive changes, according to a major new UK-government report, authored by economist and Population Matters patron, Prof Sir Partha Dasgupta. Addressing population growth through much greater support for family planning is one of the key solutions proposed.
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Population and reproductive rights – our new briefing
In a submission to the UK parliament, Population Matters calls for greater honesty about the population benefits of reproductive rights – and warns of the threat posed by nationalistic population policies.
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Study: Population growth cancelling out climate change progress
A significant new study, published in the latest edition of the Journal of Population and Sustainability, finds that more than three-quarters of the reductions in carbon emissions achieved since 1990 by increased efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions from energy production have been cancelled out by the effects of a growing population. The study provides the…
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UN Summit: Are Climate Ambitions Falling Short?
With the virtual UN Climate Ambition Summit 2020 being held today, we ask why the rapid growth of the human population is still being left off the international agenda. Ahead of today’s UN Climate Ambition Summit, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of the UK announced an ambitious new target to cut greenhouse gas emissions some 67% –…
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The love of the human: Interview with Judy Ling Wong
Population is a complicated and multi-faceted issue. To help ensure that we at Population Matters (PM) say and do the right things, we have an Expert Advisory Group. Among those experts is the founder of the Black Environment Network, Judy Ling Wong. In conversation with Population Matters Head of Campaigns Alistair Currie, Judy discusses how…
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The Shadow Pandemic: Violence Against Women
One in three women around the world experience physical or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, former Population Matters Campaigner Katrina Dixon takes a sobering look at one of humanity’s oldest diseases. Content warning: this article features information and statistics on gender-based violence that may…