News from Population Matters.
-
Chris Packham: we need to talk about population
In a powerful BBC documentary broadcast this week, Population Matters patron Chris Packham examined the challenges of population growth, and made an impassioned plea for “the elephant in the room” to become a core part of environmental debate. His programme has prompted an outpouring of positive responses (including almost 100 new members for Population Matters),…
-
Here’s why 2020 could be a ‘super-year’ for nature
Despite the climate and biodiversity crises continuing to escalate, environmentalists are calling 2020 a ‘super-year’ for nature because of several upcoming international policy meetings that have the potential to set nature on a path to recovery. Delegates’ willingness to commit to ambitious, legally binding plans which include action on human population growth will determine how liveable…
-
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. The controversy around the UN’s International Population and Development Conference (known by its acronym ICPD25, being the first held since the initial Cairo…
-
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. What is population ageing? The UK population, like other developed countries, has an ageing population, meaning that…
-
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, that it can and must be done through means that respect and enhance…
-
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. Modern agriculture is a leading cause of biodiversity loss, pollution, and climate change emissions – a global shift towards less destructive…
-
Scientists call for improving contraceptive use to fight climate change
A new commentary article published in BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health, and picked up by the Daily Mail, urges wide-scale adoption of policies that aim to increase the use of modern contraception as part of global efforts to reduce climate emissions. Based on the simple (yet still widely ignored) fact that population growth is a…
-
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. Our Head of Campaigns, Alistair Currie, looks…
-
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. The report, Harnessing the power of data for gender equality, published by Equal Measures 2030, introduces the…
-
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. Growing…