Population and Climate Change for Professors

Iceland's Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon formed in the 1930s when the Breiðamerkurjökull glacier that feeds into it began to melt. In the 20th century alone, 10% of Iceland's ice vanished. Experts predict that the country's glaciers will be gone within 200 years.

Jeremy Bishop | Unsplash

Population growth contributes to climate change because each additional person causes emissions—especially in high- and middle-income countries. While affluent populations cause the overwhelming majority of global emissions, low-income populations are the most at-risk for climate impacts. Rapid population growth in low-resource settings increases climate vulnerability and endangers more people who lack the resources necessary to readily adapt and recover.

Slowing population growth through rights-based interventions (e.g. increasing access to voluntary family planning) has profound implications for lowering emissions, improving climate adaptation outcomes, and meeting global sustainable development goals.

By including population trends and dynamics in secondary-level climate education, we can prepare tomorrow’s professionals to work toward cost-effective, rights-based solutions to climate change—namely, voluntary family planning and girls’ education.

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Contact: Hannah Evans, Communications Manager