Stop putting people and our planet at odds

The world population officially hit 8 billion people this week. Some have already argued that this is grave news for the planet, but I see things differently.

This is not a cause for panic. Population growth and human flourishing should not be at odds with reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting our planet. As climate activists, we cannot forget about human beings in favor of our natural world. We have to advocate for both to thrive. Not only are future generations the ultimate reason we want to fight climate change, we need to foster the next generation to be innovative leaders ready to solve our world’s complex problems. Arguing for extreme population control measures or encouraging young people to avoid having children is anti-human, plain and simple.

As background, the world population continues to grow for a few reasons: high birth rates in economically developing nations and increasing average life expectancy due to advancements in education and health care. Yet, in developed nations like the United States or countries in the European Union, population growth is so sluggish that those countries may not even maintain their current populations. Even though the world population is, in fact, growing, we’re not running off the rails. In fact, in places like Japan, senior citizens outnumber the working generation, and it’s only expected to get more severe. This is to say, there are very real concerns with population decrease in many countries as well.

Speaking of Japan’s aging population, average life expectancy continues to climb — expected to be 77 years in 2050 — and people across the world are living longer and more meaningful lives. In fact, as quality of life improves, people are more likely to care about climate change and want solutions to protect our environment. Even more importantly, affluent countries are the ones who can afford to fight climate change. While developing nations still lag behind the average in life expectancy and quality of life, there has been significant progress made in reducing global poverty and improving living conditions. These steps should be celebrated, not condemned as a climate catastrophe. Humans are not the enemy here; greenhouse gas emissions are.

As we pursue climate solutions like deploying clean energy, restoring natural ecosystems and developing other innovative, emissions-reducing technologies, we must do so in a way that maintains — or better yet, improves — quality of life across the world. Making climate action akin to sacrifice isn’t an inspiring message. We have to create a future that is even better than our present.

It’s true that energy demand will continue to increase and for some nations, continued fast population growth will cause a strain on resources. But the answer is not to take an anti-human, back-to-nature approach. The answer is continuing to advance and create innovative solutions for the challenges that result from having more human beings on the planet. Just as the world collaborated to improve air quality after the signing of the 1987 Montreal Protocol, we must continue to collaborate — as leaders did at the UN climate summit COP27 this month — to combat the effects of a changing climate.

To put it in simple terms, optimism is what’s missing from the climate dialogue. Flashy headlines decry a climate apocalypse without acknowledging that our world population is growing because more people are surviving into their child-bearing years. That’s good news. Now, we have to work toward solutions that will keep the planet healthy for our growing population.

Benji Backer is the president and founder of the American Conservation Coalition (ACC). Follow him on Twitter: @BenjiBacker