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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2024Population and climate change
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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400 https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: verlag@oeaw.ac.at |
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DATUM, UNTERSCHRIFT / DATE, SIGNATURE
BANK AUSTRIA CREDITANSTALT, WIEN (IBAN AT04 1100 0006 2280 0100, BIC BKAUATWW), DEUTSCHE BANK MÜNCHEN (IBAN DE16 7007 0024 0238 8270 00, BIC DEUTDEDBMUC)
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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2024, pp. 1-7, 2024/12/15
Population and climate change
As the global population hit eight billion in 2022 and climate change-induced extreme events have become more visible worldwide, there has been renewed public interest in the impact of population growth on climate change. This has also sparked a debate about the role of population control policies as a key strategy to curb global warming. This essay argues that the relationship between population dynamics and climate change is highly complex, and that having specific background knowledge could be beneficial for participating in this debate. To this end, this essay presents three points that readers may wish to consider when forming their judgements: (1) the role of demographers in assessing how human population impacts climate change; (2) the importance of acknowledging the demographic heterogeneity and complexity of the relationship between human populations and climate change; and (3) the disparities in resource consumption and the resulting emissions in the context of climate justice.
Keywords: Climate justice ; Demographic heterogeneity ; Global warming ; IPAT ; Population growth ; Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs)