Climate Change: Population

(asked on 16th March 2021) - View Source

Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the report by Professor Sir Partha Dasgupta The Economics of Biodiversity: The Dasgupta Review, published on 2 February, what steps they will take in response to the contribution of global population growth to climate change.


This question was answered on 30th March 2021

The independent Dasgupta Review explores a range of actions it argues are needed to protect the environment and our prosperity. The Government will examine the Review's findings closely, call on international partners to do the same, and will respond formally in due course. The review focuses on biodiversity, rather than climate change and carbon emissions.

It is growth in levels of consumption driven by unsustainable development that influences carbon emissions, and increases climate change, rather than population growth itself.

The UK supports many low income countries to plan for population growth and harness a demographic dividend, including through UK aid investments in voluntary family planning and 12 years of quality education. Effective investments in health and education can also build the adaptive capacity of communities to respond to climate change.

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