Why we should be wary of blaming ‘overpopulation’ for the climate crisis

(The Conversation, 28 Jan 2020) The annual World Economic Forum in Davos brought together representatives from government and business to deliberate how to solve the worsening climate and ecological crisis.

The meeting came just as devastating bush fires were abating in Australia. These fires are thought to have killed up to one billion animals and generated a new wave of climate refugees. Yet, as with the COP25 climate talks in Madrid, a sense of urgency, ambition and consensus on what to do next were largely absent in Davos.

But an important debate did surface – that is, the question of who, or what, is to blame for the crisis. Famed primatologist Dr Jane Goodall remarked at the event that human population growth is responsible, and that most environmental problems wouldn’t exist if our numbers were at the levels they were 500 years ago.

This might seem fairly innocuous, but its an argument that has grim implications and is based on a misreading of the underlying causes of the current crises. As these escalate, people must be prepared to challenge and reject the overpopulation argument.

Jane Goodall @ Davos: "All these [environmental] things we talk about wouldn’t be a problem if there was the size of population that there was 500 years ago.”

The world population 500 years ago is estimated btwn 420 and 540 million — 6.7 billion fewer people than today.

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The Conversation, 28 Jan 2020: Why we should be wary of blaming ‘overpopulation’ for the climate crisis