Sir, – Perhaps one way to reconcile addressing climate change with a first-world lifestyle is by having far fewer children.
The common retort to this will be that those developed countries with low birthrates account for a vastly disproportionate amount of the world’s energy consumption.
While this is certainly true, and needs to be addressed, the fact is that even more basic requirements, such as every human having access to a well-rounded diet, renders our current world population unsustainable.
And that for the world as it is today. Imagine how much worse this situation becomes once global warming restricts the world’s arable zones to the high latitudes.
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The economic concerns about inverted population pyramids are surely overblown, given the combination of increased automation, and eventual influx of climate refugees. Indeed, having fewer children may just be the ticket to ensuring meaningful employment for the next generation. – Yours, etc,
WILL BREEN,
Cork.