While voices are being raised to lower the birth rate as the milestone of 8 billion inhabitants on Earth has just been crossed, the author of Should we stop having children to save the planet? (ed. Payot) think the opposite. According to Emmanuel Pont, it is even “perfectly possible” to live 10 billion on Earth. “On the other hand, the main levers of action are eating less meat and reducing waste.” The engineer wants proof that “countries with more than three children per woman represent 20% of the world’s population for 3% of emissions” polluting.
franceinfo: Would a drop in the birth rate be good news in the fight against climate change?
Emmanuel Pont: If we are a little less, it will actually be a little easier to achieve a sustainable world. On the other hand, the growth of the world’s population is occurring above all in Africa and among the poorest countries in the world. However, these countries are far from having the ecological impact of the rich countries. We have every reason to want to help these poor countries make a democratic transition for issues of improving education, health, family planning, gender equality… But the countries that more than three children per woman represent 20% of the world’s population for 3% of emissions.
How do you explain that this secondary issue, in your opinion, has been at the heart of the debate for a few years?
It’s obvious. We tend to think that if we were half as much we would pollute half as much. When in fact it would be much more complex. We would be in a different world, less dense, with different political and technological choices. Perhaps the average European would live like the average American who today pollutes about twice as much as the average European. Population is a secondary determinant.
Would we therefore be able to live sustainably with 10 billion on the planet?
It is perfectly possible. We have plenty of enough to feed everyone. On the other hand, the main action levers are eating less meat and reducing waste. If there are famines today and if we have a cereal crisis today, it is because the majority of the cereals produced by humanity goes to farm animals instead of feeding humans. Just with that, we would feed everyone very well, probably better than today, and we would also solve a number of ecological problems such as the biodiversity crisis and deforestation. We are quite capable of having a sober and sustainable world.