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Population Matters resource library

Population Matters has been conducting research and producing briefings and government submissions for more than 20 years. You can use this page to find resources on a wide variety of population and environmental subjects. Use the search filters below to refine your search, or browse more than 100 papers and documents. You can also find past editions of the Population Matters members' magazine

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Journal of Population and Sustainability

As part of our commitment to research in the field, Population Matters also publishes the editorially independent Journal of Population and Sustainability, exploring all aspects of the relationship between human numbers and environmental issues.

Journal of Population and Sustainability

Why population matters for the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Briefings and submissions

On its website, the RSPB states,

‘We are creating a world rich in nature’.

That is an ambitious
and admirable statement – but, unfortunately, not one that is generally accurate.

Why population matters for Friends of the Earth

Briefings and submissions

Friends of the Earth’s declared mission is to: “Make life better for people by inspiring solutions to environmental problems”.

Why population matters for the Campaign to Protect Rural England

Briefings and submissions

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) is one of the leading conservation organisations in England – focused, as its name states, on the protection, sustainable use and enjoyment of England’s countryside in particular.

The adverse environmental impact of animal agriculture

Briefings and submissions

The animal agriculture sector occupies 30 per cent of the earth’s ice-free surface, provides a means of livelihood to more than 1.3 billion people and contributes 40 per cent of global agricultural gross domestic product.

Energy consumption in the UK and the world

Briefings and submissions

Larger populations, industrial developments and more wealth have increased energy demand greatly. Currently, the world relies predominantly on fossil fuels that are not only harmful for our environment but are also limited in supply.

Population growth exacerbates flood risk

Briefings and submissions

Population growth increases both the likelihood and the potential impact of flooding by increasing the pressure on sewer systems and prompting urban expansion into areas at high risk of flooding.

Human population reduction is not a quick fix for environmental problems

Briefings and submissions

How much environmental pressure can family planning avert? – A commentary on projections by Bradshaw and Brook

Waste in the UK and the world

Briefings and submissions

While waste disposal was once a local concern, today it is a global challenge. The consumption of finite resources, and the damaging of the earth in the processes of mineral extraction, pollution and waste management, transcend borders. 1

Resource security

Briefings and submissions

Resources are fundamental for maintaining and improving our quality of life. Although the role of fossil fuels for the generation of energy is often highlighted, the essential role of metals, minerals, rocks and biotic materials is much less discussed. Nevertheless, non-energy raw materials are widely used.

Natural amenities in the UK

Natural amenities are beneficial to humanity in many ways. They contribute economically, socially and environmentally to our lives. Losing these free services would inflict great costs on our society.

Planetary boundaries and population

Briefings and submissions

The concept of ‘planetary boundaries’ serves to define the limits of a safe environmental space for human development on Earth by determining the risk of threshold effects of biophysical processes and identifying the key drivers that could lead to them.

Envisioning a Sustainable Society

Briefings and submissions

Global Biodiversity and Population

Briefings and submissions

DFID Family Planning Aid Performance Introduction

Briefings and submissions

The Department for International Development (DFID) is the UK government agency working to end extreme poverty around the world. It focuses on job creation, ‘unlocking the potential of girls and women’ and helping to save lives during humanitarian crises .

Sustainable Development Goals

Briefings and submissions

The first official "zero" draft of the sustainable development goals (SDGs) was published on 2 June 2015.

Family planning: the key to sustainable development

Briefings and submissions

Summary January 2016 sees the launch of the sustainable development goals (SDGs), a set of 17 objectives that will guide international development until 2030, and the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) in Indonesia.

Family planning

The demographic dividend can accelerate economic growth

Briefings and submissions

The term “demographic dividend” (DD) refers to the accelerated economic growth that a country can achieve when it has a low dependency ratio or, in other words, when the proportion of its population that is of working age is greater than the proportion of its population that doesn’t work (e.g. children and the elderly).

World population

Climate Change and Population – Links and Trade-Offs

Briefings and submissions

“The strong correspondence among emission, population, and GDP rankings reflects the importance of population and economic growth as emissions drivers.” (Climate data: insights and observations, Baumer & Pershing, Pew Center on Climate Change, December 2004.)

World population

A Population-Based Climate Strategy

Briefings and submissions

In 2007 the world finally woke up to climate change. It has not, however, woken up to one of its fundamental causes – human population growth.

World population

Population and climate change

Briefings and submissions

Introduction Climate change is the long-term alteration of weather patterns affecting our planet. In the modern world this occurs largely due to human produced greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, which trap heat in the atmosphere and alter the earth’s climate.

World population