: Development

News from Population Matters.

  • Director’s reflections on 2021

    As 2021 draws to a close, Population Matters Director Robin Maynard reflects on an eventful year. Thank you to all of you from across the world for your interest, your…

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    COP26: Why population matters

    A crucial UN climate conference (COP26) is taking place in Glasgow over the next few days. One factor unlikely to be on the agenda is human population growth. Whilst the…

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    From flood protection to family planning: Komb Green Solutions

    In July, we launched our crowdfunding campaign with the Kenyan environmental organisation, Komb Green Solutions. After disastrous floods earlier this year, the People’s Park they had created for children and…

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    Unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions and death: The impact of the UK aid cuts

    In November 2020, the UK Government announced a reduction in its foreign development aid from 0.7% of gross national income to 0.5%. Global family planning was one of the areas…

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    A Booming Success: Population Matters’ 2021 Conference

    On 8th October, Population Matters hosted Boom or Bust, our online and in-person conference addressing the intersection of population and economics, with a focus on how societies can flourish with…

  • Gender equality: Have we made progress?

    A new UN report measures the progress made towards gender equality across all 17 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Due to a lack of investment and major setbacks precipitated…

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    The Sahel: Empowering women key to averting disaster

    The Sahel region of Africa is on a dangerous trajectory of rapid population growth and catastrophic climate warming. Empowering women in this area is key to saving and improving countless…

  • Heading towards collapse: two major warnings

    Updates to two landmark environmental studies were published in recent weeks: one examines the accuracy of the Club of Rome’s predictions in their bestselling 1972 book ‘Limits to Growth’, the…

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    Earth Overshoot Day: No Plan(et) B

    Today is Earth Overshoot Day, the date on which humanity has used up all the natural resources the Earth can regenerate within a year. Despite urgent calls to avoid a…

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    Happy birthday, but more to do before we blow out the candles

    We’ve been committed to raising the profile of population and our collective impact on Earth since 24 July 1991, and though a cynic might consider it counter-intuitive for us to celebrate, that cynic would be ignorant of our unerring dedication to help create a better world for people everywhere, and the positive difference we are making.