: Environment

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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    Elon Musk is wrong: we need smaller families

    Tech billionaire Elon Musk, who has just been named TIME’s person of the year, has once again urged people to have more babies, claiming that “population collapse” is the biggest…

  • Bill Rees: A note on climate change and cultural denial

    Was COP26 a big waste of time? Population ecologist and PM Expert Advisor Prof William Rees weighs in on the major UN climate conference and points out humanity’s collective failure…

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    Reflections on COP26

    The crucial UN climate summit in Glasgow, COP26, finished on Saturday 13 November. How much did it achieve and how did it deal with the population issue and neglected, positive…

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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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    PM report exposes the ageing myth

    A major new report by Population Matters busts the myth that a declining birth rate and ageing population spell economic disaster. Silver linings, not silver burdens reveals the benefits of…

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    Talking population at the World Conservation Congress

    From 3-10 September, Population Matters attended the World Conservation Congress of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in the sunny, warm climes of Marseille. Postponed from last year…

  • More than half of all tree species could face extinction

    A comprehensive new assessment of the conservation status of all trees reveals that 30-60% of species are at risk of extinction, mainly due to habitat destruction for agriculture. Vanishing forests…

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    Europe’s biodiversity under pressure from growing food demand

    Increasing populations lead to a subsequent increase in food demand, but how will this impact biodiversity? A recent study, published in Nature, shows the continued conversion of land to agriculture…

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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…