Analyzing the Correlation between Population Growth and Climate Change

This report examines the significant relationship between population increase and climate change. It highlights the correlation between population growth and increased fossil fuel consumption, leading to a rise in greenhouse gas emissions, particularly CO2. The report references studies indicating a direct correlation between population growth and CO2 emissions. It also emphasizes the role of developed nations with high standards of living and developing nations with improper waste disposal in contributing to CO2 and methane emissions. The report suggests that controlling population growth, through measures like fertility control, could significantly reduce emissions and mitigate climate change. It also suggests the use of renewable resources. The report concludes by emphasizing the need to maintain a balance between natural processes and population to effectively manage climate change and resource consumption.

Relationship between population increase and climate change is very prominent. Due to increase in
population there is an increase in demand of consumption of fossil fuel and other natural resources.
This led to increase in greenhouse gas emissions. As per the various studies, it is estimated that with
an increase of 1% population, the increase in CO2 emission is also 1%. But in the recent decade the
rise in population is exponential. This leads to high increase in CO2 emission. Also, the way of living
plays very important role in CO2 emission and thus climate change (Jiang & Hardee, 2011). It is being
noticed that developed nation plays a very important role in CO2 emission due to their high standard
of living. But the developing nations also produce huge quantity of CO2 and methane emission due
to improper waste disposal and reckless use of natural resources.
Keeping in view of the CO2 and methane emission, there is an urgent need to put a control in rising
population in world especially in developing countries. For this fertility control could be one of the
effective ways to put a halt on increasing population. Also, slowing population growth could provide
16–29% of the emissions reductions suggested to be necessary by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate
change (O’Neill et.al., 2010). This in turn will put a ban on the huge consumption of fossil fuel and
thus improve the climate change pattern. For keeping a check on climate change other factors like
using more of renewable resources which emit less CO2 and methane in process should be used. But
this is only feasible to be widely used when there are optimum number of users. If there is explosion
in population, then it would be very difficult to maintain the equilibrium between natural processes
like climate change, water consumption rate etc. and the living being.
Reference:
1. Jiang, L., & Hardee, K. (2011). How do recent population trends matter to climate change?.
Population Research and Policy Review, 30(2), 287-312.
2. O'neill, B. C., Dalton, M., Fuchs, R., Jiang, L., Pachauri, S., & Zigova, K. (2010). Global
demographic trends and future carbon emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences, 107(41), 17521-17526.