POPULATION GROWTH AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Climate change has been an issue that remains on the lips of stakeholders, activist, environmentalist etc. The notion is that population growth affects the climate, but how true is this?
According to the United Nation in 1998,world population will be between 2 and 4 billion more people by 2040.overpopulation is known to be a major cause of increase in global gas emission, efforts towards green energy sources ,reduction in global emission of carbon dioxide will only yield maximum result if population grows steadily and stabilizes.
There is a huge difference in the population growth of developed nations and developing Nations, Developed nations contribute a higher percentage to global emission of green house gases and at the same time their population growth is not as high as the developing nations that contribute a smaller percentage to the emission of these harmful gases. This puts a question mark on premise that population growth affects the climate, but the truth remains that the continued increase in population increases the demand for these sources of energy, increases deforestation and other human activities that affects the environment.
It is true that the poorest countries that would be most affected by the effects of climate change, making children and women most vulnerable, and if there is a possible link between population growth and climate change, how do you educate an uneducated African man that believes he needs to have more children because his wife is yet to give him a male child? How do you discourage child marriage and empower the women to make the right choice about their reproductive health?
All these question begs for answers and shows the challenge climate change poses has so many faces to it and requires an all round solution, it shows that the solution lies in the hand of stakeholders and individuals, to the stake holders we need good education, proper health care, infrastructures and to individuals we need to make more informed choices and realize that our choices affects not only our environment but the future generation.

For: greenernaija
Olaleye Taiwo