On October 28 , 2024, the world population is almost 8.2 billion. Without further action to limit population growth, the UN estimatesthere will be 8.6 billion people in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050, and 11.2 billion in 2100. With roughly 83 million people being added to the world’s population every year, the upward trend in population size is expected to continue, even assuming that fertility levels will continue to decline. In the spring of 2023 the population of India surpassed that of China while the U.S. remained a distance third where it is projected to remain until 2050 when Nigeria will move into third place.
As Population Matters put it, “Every additional person increases carbon emissions - the rich far more than the poor - and increases the number of climate change victims - the poor far more than the rich.”
A 2022 study from Project Drawdown reveals that family planning and universal education are two key policy solutions that combined could reduce emissions by 68.9 gigatons by 2050.
There is clearly a direct correlation between population and climate change.
CREDIT: Population Education
