By Kenfrey Kiberenge
As the world grapples with climate change and its effects, varied mitigation and adaptation measures have been suggested.
Top of the list of mitigation measures is to reduce the emission of green house gases –– mainly Carbon dioxide –– which experts say are responsible for global warming.
Some experts have suggested population control could reduce emission of Carbon dioxide. However, a new study has disputed the view rising population is responsible for increase in emission of the greenhouse gases.
The research that indicts the rich nations for inaction was published in the Environment and Urbanisation journal and contradicts growing calls for population growth to be limited as part of the fight against climate change.
It shows the real issue is not the growth in the number of people but the growth in the number of consumers and their consumption levels.
The International Institute for Environment and Development analysed changes in population and in greenhouse gas emissions for all the world’s countries and found that between 1980 and 2005, Sub-Saharan Africa had 18.5 percent of the world’s population growth and just 2.4 per cent of carbon dioxide emissions.
The big contrast
This contrasts with America’s 3.4 per cent of the world’s population growth and 12.6 per cent rise in carbon dioxide emissions.
Over the same period, China had 15.3 per cent of the world’s population growth and 44.5 per cent in carbon dioxide emissions.
The report says population growth rates in China have come down rapidly, but the greenhouse gas emissions have increased rapidly.
Dr David Satterthwaite who analysed the findings says low-income nations had 52.1 per cent of the world’s population growth and 12.8 percent rise in carbon dioxide emissions while high-income nations had seven percent of the world’s population growth and 29 per cent of the growth in carbon dioxide emissions.
Satterthwaite says contraception and reproductive health services are key contributors to development, health and human rights in poorer nations and communities.
But he says these are not a solution to climate change, which is caused predominantly by a minority of the world’s population that has the highest levels of consumption.
He however says not all the world’s greatest consumers are in high-income countries.
"The many millionaires from Mexico, China or South Africa may have just as large and damaging a carbon footprint as millionaires from Europe or North America," he says.
Globally, most of the world’s high-consumers are in Europe and North America.