If developed countries don’t set an example and therefore encourage undeveloped countries to control population growth, it has to be said that the developed countries are grossly irresponsible and have no business even discussing ‘solutions’ to climate change.

Offering baby bonuses in Australia, for example, borders on the lunatic. Australia should be looking at reducing its population via birth control and the complete cessation of immigration for all but the absolutely necessary.

We need to start demanding that Australian politicians implement a population policy as the very first step in coming to grips with climate change. Without population control, everything else is a complete waste of time.

Thank you Valerie Yule for such a straight-forward and clear presentation of the perilous human condition.
I am unable to imagine what intelligent argument can be made against any aspect of it.
Hopefully, it will be widely read. Perhaps it will even help to precipitate appropriate action. I dream perhaps, but I certainly wish.

Excellent article on one of the world’s most important issues, Valerie.

I just hope to goodness that a fundamental level of commonsense will prevail in the near future. I’m reasonably optimistic that it will, given how rapidly things have moved forward on the climate change issue in the last twelve months. Hopefully this new-found global concern can progress to the next step, to that of concern about overall sustainability, of which population size and growth rate are fundamental components.

Here’s hoping very hard indeed.

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“Offering baby bonuses in Australia … borders on the lunatic.”

Absolutely right Leigh. It is really is beyond my comprehension as to how something so woeful and directly anti-commonsensical could have got up in the first place and then been allowed to become entrenched.

Exactly the opposite is needed; a regime of incentives to lower our birthrate, along with a reduction in immigration to at least net zero.

hear, hear!

but not much chance of action. stabilty of population is anathema to corporations, and any attempt to reduce or stabilize by elected governments will result in economic pressure to replace that government.

another reason to need citizen initiative.

Who'd ever think that talking in numbers could be a thing of beauty, but this is!

At last we get to the nub of the issue. The problem is not the carbon enrichment of our environment, that is but a symptom.

The problem IS overpopulation.

The baby bonus was moderately justified when first introduced, given how low the fertility rate had dropped at that point. There would now seem to be a good case for gradually phasing it out, and restricting it to the first two children. But without a commitment to gradually lowering immigration levels too, it won't achieve much.