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World leaders meet to discuss and negotiate issues related to climate change. When you think of climate change, you may think of disastrous natural consequences like fires and floods. You may be concerned about rising sea levels or struggling with policies to prevent large-scale disasters. But for some, the impact is being felt in another way: many couples of childbearing age worry about the threat of a scarcity of resources, and some couples wonder whether they should have children or rethink. family size.
When we talk about the effects of climate change and the depletion of our natural resources in reference to having babies, words like “deterrence”, “discouragement” and “responsibility” come up over and over again. About a quarter of men and women who responded to a Morning Consult survey said they took climate change into account in their reproductive decisions. “For GenZers and Millennials, the problem seems bigger, with 37% and 34%, respectively, saying this is a major or minor reason why they are not having children,” according to the report released. ‘last year. Among those polled between the ages of 20 and 45, a third said climate change was a reason they had had fewer children or expected to have a smaller family than they considered to be. ideal.
Kathleen*, who lives on the West Coast and has a 2.5-year-old child, told me, “The wildfires had such an impact that we couldn’t leave our house. Climate change and the pressure on our environmental resources are discouraging having more children. Many of my friends believe that a child born now would not have a secure future. They don’t want their children to inherit a volatile world.
When I asked Ryan, 44, a father of three and only child, if he thought the pandemic would influence the number of children in the future, he ignored the pandemic part of my question. “The biggest influence is the climate and the environment,” he replied, taking my question in another direction. “Resources are limited and children use a lot. As people become more aware, the climate will dissuade having more children. “
Kenneth, 39, an only child whose preference was initially a larger family, gave up on that wish due to the financial pressure of more children and his sense of responsibility. “I think having a lot of kids is irresponsible,” he said. “The more children you have, the more you consume, the greater the impact on the environment and on the global footprint. I cringe at people who have a lot of children.
Following two articles in The New York Times Addressing declining population growth and its effects on the economy, readers retaliated, “With a smaller population, we will not be struggling for the resources to provide food, water and shelter for all. the world, “wrote Alexandra Paul of California in a letter to the editor. “We will not contribute as much to climate change; we will live in harmony with nature and allow wildlife to thrive; most people will have jobs despite the rise in automation; there will be less traffic, less crowds, more open spaces. These are all crucial things for well-being.
“When I talk to people my age about having children, we are not talking about whether or not we like children, or whether we would be able to support them,” wrote second year student Astrid Braun. from Ohio. editor. “We are talking about the moral implications of putting more people on this Earth to consume more resources. And we are talking about not wanting our children to live in a terribly uncertain future, in which they might face a world of disaster related to climate change We are already experiencing it ourselves, in many places.
A small study from the University of Arizona – “No future, no children – no children, no future?” Their responses suggest that climate change looms large in decisions about whether or not to have children, reflecting how environmental concerns increasingly influence the reproductive choices of young adults.
Climate change: an undeniable factor
Anxiety about climate change has become a priority in many conversations about family planning. Coupled with the high participation of women in the labor market, the costs of raising children and the profound economic aftershocks of COVID-19, concerns about climate change appear to be accelerating the sharp decline in the birth rate in many developed countries.
More than 10 years ago, in his book The coming demographic collapse and the surprising future of our planet, Economist Fred Pearce noted: “Once the trend sets in, it will be very difficult to break it. With climate change now weighing heavily on couples’ decisions to have children and family size, it seems highly likely that climate anxiety will fuel the one-child trend for a long time to come.
Is climate change something you struggle with when thinking about having a baby?
*The names of participants in the one-child research project have been changed to protect their identities.
Copyright @ 2021 by Susan Newman