Does having children contribute to climate change?
A new UN report suggests that slowing population growth could help combat climate change. Do you think that having less children could help us save the planet?
The United Nations Population Fund said if women are empowered to take control of their reproductive health they may choose to have fewer children, reducing pressure on resources and the environment.
"Slower population growth would help build social resilience to climate change's impacts and would contribute to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions," it reads.
Contraceptives can reduce impact of climate change says Lancet. The 94-page State of the World Population Report 2009 calls for any deal on climate change coming out of the UN summit in Copenhagen this December to include measures to empower women and improve access to family planning services.
"There is still time for the negotiators about to gather in Copenhagen to think creatively about population, reproductive health and gender equality and how these might contribute to a just and environmentally sustainable world," it reads
The report is the latest study to suggest access to contraception could slow population growth and therefore help to tackle climate change.
But many Africans believe large families are a form of insurance on continent where one in every six children dies before the age of five, according to UNICEF.
Should we in the developed world be having fewer children to save the environment?
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