November 15th, The 8 billionth person on earth was born. Well, more or less. It was the date chosen by United Nations demographers as the moment the world crossed its latest demographic milestone. The exact date is probably wrong, and could possibly be off by a few months or more, but there are about a billion more humans alive today than there were 11 years ago.
I wasn’t paying close attention to 8 billion days. Milestones make good headlines, but when we focus on a few big numbers, we see a clearer trend that really explains how the world has changed since there were only 7 billion people. It may become difficult. Here are two examples: The proportion of people living in extreme poverty has steadily declined over the past decade. (In 2010, 16.3% of the world lived on less than $2.15 a day; today, only 9% live on that tiny amount.) And the last 10 Life expectancy per capita is increasing despite rapidly increasing GDP populations in India and China, which contributed the highest number of newborns per year. Simply put, more people are living better today than at any point in human history.
As the eight billion days rolled by, my mailbox was flooded with press releases warning me that milestones represented critical conditions on our planet. I have a hunch as to why I’ve been sending these stories my way. In the near future, demographers have pointed out that the world’s population is on the rise. Managing that increase is the real challenge facing the planet today. In the eyes of the NGO spokesperson and certain people who were angry on his Twitter, this made me think, “I’m pretty sure we shouldn’t be too afraid to talk about ‘overpopulation’ and its environmental impact.” firmly placed in the camp of journalists.
Many online reports about 8 Billion Days were from the same point of view. “There is no argument to be made that eight billion people will have a significant impact on the climate. GuardianAt a fundamental level, it’s completely true. If all else remains the same, more people on the planet means more carbon emissions. estimated to save 68.9 billion tons of CO2.2 Emissions by 2050 are roughly equivalent to emissions from fossil fuels and industry in two years.
When we talk about population and climate change, we have to think carefully. It’s easy to look at a world of 8 billion and conclude that there are ‘too many’ people on the planet. But who do we really mean when we talk about overpopulation? People living in the United States emit about 15 tons of CO2.2 annual emissions. But in the eight countries where most of the population growth will be concentrated by 2050, per capita emissions are only a fraction of US levels. In the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), where he is projected to grow by more than 120 million over the next 20 years, just 30 kilograms of he CO2 is produced per person.2 every year. Emissions are the result of consumption, not just population.
The richest people in the world are the biggest emitters. A study by the World Inequality Lab found that as middle-class emissions in wealthier countries fell, emissions among the top 0.001% increased by 107%. Lorraine Whitmarsh, a psychologist at the University of Bath who studies behavior and climate change, said: “When you look at wealthy people with large families, I don’t think we can afford more wealthy people on the planet.” said. If we really want to cut emissions, it makes the most sense to start by reducing consumption in developed countries with stagnant populations.
