3 hours ago
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George Monbiot’s article (The UK government didn’t want you to see this report on ecosystem collapse. I’m not surprised, 27 January) highlights the grave risks identified in the UK government’s report Global biodiversity loss, ecosystem collapse and national security. However, it overlooks a key factor highlighted in the report – that population growth is a major indirect driver of global biodiversity loss. “As the global population grows, reaching 9.7 billion by 2050, the impact of food production on natural systems will intensify and it will become even more challenging to produce sufficient food sustainably,” it says.
Mass-scale expansion of agriculture driven by global population growth risks sacrificing sustainability: forests cleared for farmland, pesticides polluting waterways, and ecosystems pushed beyond recovery accelerating biodiversity loss. It is a concern echoed by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which identified population growth and GDP per capita as the strongest drivers of carbon emissions.
We must end the taboo of discussing population growth and address the underlying causes of it. Currently, there are 121m unintended pregnancies each year, and globally only one in 10 women feel able to make decisions about using contraception. By addressing the drivers of global population growth, we also curb rising demand for food production, resolving one of the main drivers of biodiversity loss. In addition, more people transitioning to a plant-based diet is essential, as livestock farming occupies more than three-quarters of agricultural land and produces twice the emissions of crop farming.
The UK government must urgently act on its own report’s findings by addressing the causes and effects of global population growth and unsustainable consumption patterns as intertwined challenges. Biodiversity loss cannot be ignored, as it poses an existential risk to geopolitical security and any hope for a peaceful and sustainable future.
Amy Jankiewicz
CEO, Population Matters
