Population news from July

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POPULATION MATTERS SUPPORTERS' UPDATE

JULY 2020

Director's message

_"Lies, damned lies, and statistics"_: a phrase attributed to Mark Twain
alluding to the power of statistics to lend weight to shallow or misleading
arguments and so requiring deeper enquiry. Both are relevant to PM’s
analysis of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) [3] linked to our
World Population Day activities. The SDGs are admirable goals, which PM
wholeheartedly supports – not least those pertaining to gender equality
and access to safe, modern contraception. On the surface, progress seems
encouraging – with a greater proportion of people leading lives meeting
the SDG targets – but because of ongoing population growth, the actual
number of people whose life opportunities fall below those targets has
increased.

The perspective applied to statistics can be just as distorting. Reporting
of the research published in _The Lancet_ (see below) under crass headlines
of "jaw-dropping" fertility declines being a recent example. If that single
piece of research, based on mass data crunching, proves correct then we may
(emphasis on 'may') see a total population by 2100 around 2 billion lower
than the more established projections from the United Nations. Surely to be
celebrated, given that at the current population of 7.8 billion, our planet
and its ecosystems are showing serious signs of stress? Yet most of the
media commentary came via the narrow lens of ‘no population growth, no
economic growth’.

Notwithstanding the mainstream media myopia, we marked World Population Day
well – connecting with campaigners across the world working on the
interrelated issues of population, poverty, consumption and conservation.
Our quote of the month from the Global Footprint Network’s (GFN) Laurel
Hanscom is just one great take-out from PM’s live panel discussion. On 22
August, PM will mark and publicise GFN’s own ‘world day’, Earth
Overshoot Day [4], the point in the year when humanity starts using up more
of our planet’s natural resources than it can sustainably provide. The
first Earth Overshoot Day in 1970 fell on 29th December – this year’s
lands 130 days earlier. Fifty years ago the global population was 3.6
billion – it has since more than doubled. Now there’s a statistic and
its consequent impacts requiring deeper enquiry!

- Robin Maynard, Director, Population Matters

NEWS FROM POPULATION MATTERS

World Population Day 2020: Sustainable development needs a sustainable
population

Saturday 11 July marked World Population Day and due to the current health
crisis, it was for us the culmination of a series of exciting digital
activities. This year our theme and activities centred around the UN’s
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how empowering, choice-based
population solutions are key to accelerating progress. From a social media
countdown series, to a 24-page report for stakeholders, to a new animation
video, to a live panel discussion with experts, we hope our hard work
encouraged and inspired people to take action.

Read more and watch the videos [5]

POPULATION

Two billion fewer people?

A new study published in _The Lancet_ made a big media splash by projecting
that the global population will peak at 9.7bn in 2064 and be 8.8bn by the
end of the century. That's 2bn below the United Nations projection. Can it
be true? Population Matters Head of Campaigns and Communications Alistair
Currie took a dive into the new figures.

Read more [6]

Robin on Radio 4

Our Director Robin spoke about the new projections and the tremendous (yet
neglected) benefits of falling fertility rates on BBC Radio 4. Listen from
33:44 onwards.

Listen [7]

ENVIRONMENT

Eating the planet

A new report by EAT reveals that global adoption of current food
consumption patterns in G20 countries would ruin our chance of meeting
climate and sustainability targets, exceeding the planetary boundary for
food-related emissions by almost three-fold and requiring up to seven
Earths to support.

Read more [8]

Polar bears could go extinct by 2100

According to a new study published in _Nature Climate Change_, the majority
of polar bear populations are likely to collapse by the end of the century
if we continue on our current emissions trajectory.

Read more [9]

WOMEN'S RIGHTS & SEXUAL HEALTH

The governments controlling women's bodies

Both China and Iran made the headlines recently for two very contrasting
examples of a return to the dark ages of controlling women’s wombs. As
with other ongoing human rights violations, the international community is
not doing enough to end these atrocities. Population Matters Communications
Officer Olivia Nater investigates.

Read more [10]

Number of women and girls subjected to harmful practices still growing

The latest UNFPA _State of the World Population_ report shows that every
year, millions of women and girls across the world are subjected to violent
and harmful practices. Due to population growth and stagnating progress
towards gender equality, the number of victims is still on the rise.

Read more [11]

Quote of the month

"I think it’s a false dichotomy that you talk about
one or the other… you have to talk about consumption, and you have to
talk about population. They go hand in hand, and there are different
solutions for different parts of the world."

- Laurel Hanscom, CEO, Global Footprint Network

TAKE ACTION

Join us!

World Population Day 2020 would not have been as successful without the
financial support of our members. Our membership provides the fuel for our
campaigns and plays a key role in raising awareness of the population issue
and our work. The more people join us, the more effective we can be in
influencing international agreements like the Sustainable Development
Goals. You can become a member for as little as £2.50 a month - the price
of a coffee!

Yes I'd like to join [12]

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© 2020 Population Matters

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