: Development

News from Population Matters.

  • New York banner

    Biden’s victory: What does it mean for women’s rights and the environment?

    The past four years under the Trump administration lead to several significant setbacks for sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and the environment, both within the US and globally….

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    Can we shrink our energy footprint?

    A new study suggests we can reduce global energy consumption by 75% and still lead comfortable lives. Our Head of Campaigns, Alistair Currie, asks – can we do it?

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    Attenborough film: Saving our planet requires ending population growth

    David Attenborough’s ‘A Life On Our Planet‘ highlights the rampant destruction of nature caused by human population growth and unsustainable consumption, as well as the positive and urgently needed actions…

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    PM supporters call for UN action

    On 11 July 2019, World Population Day, we launched a petition calling on the UN to recognise the urgency of achieving a sustainable human population if the world is to have a reasonable chance of meeting the Sustainable Development Goals. Almost 8,000 people across 128 countries have signed up.

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    It’s time to end harmful population denial

    Polemicist and pundit George Monbiot’s recent opinion piece in The Guardian claims (once again) that addressing the population issue is “blaming the poor” and “racist”. Population Matters Director Robin Maynard replies to these unjustified and irrational accusations and explains why population denial hurts everyone, especially the world’s most vulnerable.

  • Earth Overshoot Day: How smaller families shrink our ecological footprint

    Today is Earth Overshoot Day, the day on which humanity has used up all the natural resources that the Earth can produce within a year. This means that from tomorrow,…

  • Investing in contraception would save billions of dollars

    A new report estimates that fulfilling the unmet need for modern contraception in developing countries would save $16 billion a year in maternal healthcare by reducing the number of unintended…

  • UK Population banner

    Small island, big population – why the UK needs a Sustainable Population Policy

    With the United Kingdom already considered one of the most nature-depleted countries in the world, unabated population growth poses a real threat to remaining ecosystems and human health and wellbeing….

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    Eating the planet: what our diets and population growth mean for the environment

    A new report reveals that global adoption of current food consumption patterns in G20 countries would ruin our chance of meeting climate and sustainability targets, exceeding the planetary boundary for food-related emissions…

  • Baby looking ahead banner

    Two billion fewer people?

    A new study published in The Lancet has attracted enormous attention for projecting that the global population will peak at 9.7bn in 2064 and be 8.8bn by the end of…