World Population Day: Rights of Children Eclipse What Parents “Want”
How can we expect more couples to make informed, responsible decisions if they don’t even know about human overpopulation?
World Population Day, July 11, is the day I’m routinely reminded that the UN and UNFPA continue to tap dance around the issue of human overpopulation. Their statements this year distance those organizations so far from the critical truth, I can no longer call it a “tap-dance.” It’s more like a full-on sprint — away from what is a very real problem for everyone on the planet. I’ll offer an explanation of why, later in this commentary.
First, I want to be clear about why human overpopulation is real, and then why it’s very important for us to acknowledge that and not avoid the topic. One might be forgiven for not even realizing there are too many of us on the planet. After all, UN leadership is avoiding telling you that truth. So are many environmentalists, scientists, journalists and political leaders. Not ALL of them, mind you, but far too many.
ECOLOGICAL OVERSHOOT & THE REALITY OF HUMAN OVERPOPULATION
In short, we are currently in ecological overshoot. We’re demanding more resources and ecosystem services than Earth can sustainably provide. The ill effects, and evidence, of that are mounting: rapid species extinction, declining fertility of soil, deforestation, fresh water crises, ocean dead zones, proliferation of toxins, and an increasingly unstable climate. There is plenty of data on this. Just ask a scientist (not an economist).
Staying in overshoot is a path to a dead planet. On a dead planet, there are no jobs, no affordable housing, no cheap groceries and gas. Think Mad Max, or worse.
“There is no business on a dead planet.”
– David Brower, Sierra Club Executive Director 1952–1969
Some overpopulation deniers insist that our overshoot situation is caused solely by our overconsumption. What they don’t tell you is that getting out of overshoot and back into balance with the planet WITHOUT reducing our numbers would require that we all live drastically simpler lives — no cars, no air travel, no hamburgers (if that’s important to you), no air conditioning, no movies, no TV, and only a few hours of electricity every day.
Essentially, this means that — while we whittle away at our overconsumptive lifestyles, we also need to reduce our numbers. We are so deep into overshoot that we must address both overpopulation AND overconsumption. It’s not a competition, and there is no need to choose just one of these issues. In fact, it would be foolhardy to address one and ignore the other. Based on the overshoot data and rigorous scientific analysis, while we work to shrink our supersized obsession with more of everything, we need to also contract our population — from today’s 8 billion to well below 4 billion.
So dropping fertility rates is good news. The most important thing to talk about on World Population Day isn’t the fact that, “Millions of people around the world are unable to have the number of children they want.” But that is the UN’s message today. On World Population Day, we should be celebrating the fact that more and more couples are making voluntary, informed, and responsible family-size decisions. We should be applauding the fact that more and more women are accessing education and finding a world of opportunities to live fulfilled lives that aren’t limited to birthing and raising children. We should be acclaiming the fact that worldwide more and more women are achieving and exercising reproductive agency — thus the declining fertility rates.
Yes, more needs to be done, but reproductive rights and family-size decisions should not START with what the prospective parents WANT. It should begin with the rights of children. “What can we do so children will be born onto a healthy planet, with a chance to live decent lives?” THAT needs to be the focus of the conversation.
The dialogue needs to include that we are overpopulated — and that talking about it and doing something about it can be a beautiful thing. But today, most of us aren’t getting that message. In fact, the World Population Day 2025 statement from UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem offers a different, possibly conflicting, perspective: “…while many still argue that the greatest threat to the planet is overpopulation. The real fertility crisis, however, is lack of reproductive agency. Young people are too often unable to create the families they want….”
The United Nations has adopted this theme for World Population Day 2025: “Empowering young people to create the families they want in a fair and hopeful world.” The UN’s World Population Day page calls for “ensuring youth have the rights, tools, and opportunities to shape their futures.” It’s clear in the UN message that shaping their futures is about choosing their family size. Maybe that is their right. But it’s unquestionable that with that right comes a responsibility, and that responsibility flows from someone else’s right:
Future children have a right to be born onto a healthy planet, with clean air and water, and a habitable, life-friendly climate. They deserve a chance to be born onto a planet where they have a chance of living a decent life. This is a right too seldom acknowledged and discussed. It seems to be foreign to the UN and UNFPA.
According to the Fair Start Movement, “A fair start in life is the first human right — it overrides all others.”
“Children have a right to be born into a healthy environment with the resources they need to thrive.”
— Fair Start Movement
The Fair Start Movement states the truth that far too many hide from: “The Fair Start Model promotes smaller or more ecocentric, and more equitable families so that we can all invest more in each child, right from the start.” In no way does this infringe on the rights of couples making family-size decisions. It honestly describes a responsibility they need to understand.
Today’s tragedy is the UN messaging subordinating the rights of children for fear of offending those who hold in their hands the ability of the next generation to either endure a Mad Max world or live decent lives on a healthy planet. The UN, UNFPA, and many others are afraid to speak the truth. They’ve fled from the truth about overpopulation for over 30 years, for fear they will be called out and blamed for past injustices. They’re afraid if they acknowledge overpopulation and even suggest population contraction is desirable, they’ll be called out for infringing on someone’s “reproductive rights.” Well, our reproductive rights are subordinate to the rights of future children to be born onto a healthy planet. So it’s time we get over our fear and start speaking the truth.
Yes, injustices have been perpetrated in the interest of arresting population growth. But there are ways to reverse population growth which respect human rights. Too few understand this because of the silence that’s been imposed on this issue. Bringing this issue into the daylight is the best way to protect everyone’s rights. It’s how we can eliminate any remnants of the ugly attitudes, fears and misinformation which fed those injustices. We need to talk about overpopulation so we can call out unenlightened scapegoating and educate people about the true facts and the ethical solutions.
“It is reasoned and rational discussion that will prevent a descent into xenophobia, not ignoring the topic and leaving it in the hands of those who feed off irrational soundbites.”
– Mark Allen, Founder of Population, Permaculture and Planning
The number of children today’s young people WANT is not as important as the rights of children to be born onto a healthy planet.
Dave Gardner is founder and executive director of GrowthBusters.
Follow the GrowthBusters podcast
Follow @growthbusting on Instagram
Subscribe to GrowthBusters email updates
Support GrowthBusters with your charitable contributions
