New Report on Climate Change and Population

Changes in Population Composition, Not Just Growth, Are Directly Related to Rise in Greenhouse Gases

(Washington, DC) Population dynamics are a driving force behind the growth of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change, including changing household composition, urbanization and population aging. Strong evidence shows that these dynamics, in addition to growth in overall population size, will play a key role in attempts to mitigate and adapt to the effects of changes in the climate system.

“PAI’s analysis shows the deep link between population dynamics and climate change,” said Amy Coen, President and CEO of Population Action International (PAI). “It is time for policymakers to realize that family planning and investments in women and youth are solutions to the climate crisis.”

PAI’s new working paper “How Do Recent Population Trends Matter to Climate Change?” is the first in a three-part series that will deepen understanding of the relationships between population and climate change. The next two papers in this series will be released in June and July and will focus on how population projections are used in developing climate models and will explain the assumptions behind these projections.

“The compositional change of populations, including age, the distribution of people in urban and rural areas, and household composition, are all factors in understanding the increase in greenhouse gases,” stated Dr. Leiwen Jiang, PAI’s Chief Demographer. “Previous climate models significantly underestimated the contribution of population to climate change, because they only include population size as the demographic variable.”

“PAI’s experts are conducting ground-breaking research that has deepened our understanding of the relationships between climate change and population,” said Dr. Karen Hardee, Vice-President for Research at PAI. “Understanding these relationships is critical for the world to adapt to climate change.”

“How Do Recent Population Trends Matter to Climate Change?” can be found at: http://www.populationaction.org/Publications/Working_Papers/April_2009/Summary.shtml

Population Action International uses research and advocacy to improve access to family planning and reproductive health care across the world so women and families can prosper and live in balance with the earth. By ensuring couples are able to determine the size of their families, poverty and the depletion of natural resources are reduced, improving the lives of millions across the world.

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For more information or booking PAI spokespeople:

Alia Dastagir, Fenton Communications
Ph: (202)822-5200, email: adastagir@fenton.com