Engelman Discusses Population, Climate Change, and Women's Rights
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| Worldwatch's Robert Engelman calls for greater reproductive rights around the world to reduce unwanted pregnancies and tackle climate change. (Photo credit: Elise Mann // Aspen Institute) |
In October of last year, the world’s population hit the landmark of seven billion people. Though the milestone was met with great fanfare, serious conversations regarding the environmental and social implications of an overcrowded planet were few and far between.
Faced with the reality that 215 million women worldwide lack sufficient means of contraceptive, however, population experts are increasingly calling on colleagues in the environmental and women’s rights fields to join them in linking the three issues, most significantly at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (or Rio+20) in June of this year.
On January 12, the Aspen Institute hosted the roundtable “The Road to Rio: Climate Change, Population, and Stability” as part of its “7 Billion: Conversations that Matter” discussion series. Former President of Ireland Mary Robinson, World Bank Vice President of Sustainable Development Rachel Kyte, Regional Director of the International Planned Parenthood Federation Carmen Barroso, and Worldwatch Institute President Robert Engelman all sat on the panel.
All four panelists recognized the urgency of the situation, and the potential for Rio+20 – nicknamed so to commemorate the 20th anniversary of 1992’s Earth Summit – to spark much-needed action in the way of women’s reproductive health to guarantee effective climate-change strategies.
“Rio+20 presents an opportunity for leaders to make courageous decisions now to ensure that our children and grandchildren inherit a livable world,” said Robinson. “The environmental and reproductive health activists must move forward together and create a more just future for all.”
Engelman, author of More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want, cited recent research by the Population Council that indicates that slowing population growth by meeting the needs of women could reduce up to 29% of the carbon emissions necessary to eliminate to avoid climate change.
“Empowering women to realize their reproductive intentions would slow and eventually end the world’s population growth much faster than demographers now anticipate,” he said. “Research suggests the savings in greenhouse gas emissions could be similar in 2050 to those achieved by stopping all deforestation by then, but the environmental benefits of a stable population are multiple and will keep compounding over time. Access to family planning is a concrete intervention that is relatively low-cost – especially considering these multiple benefits.”
Or, as Kyte put it, to invest in women is “smart economics.”
At the same time, the panelists recognized the challenges that lay ahead, in that the topics of population, the environment, and women’s rights are rarely mentioned in the same sentence, let alone in serious negotiations.
In acknowledging these obstacles, Engelman urged those in attendance not to place too much faith in the upcoming conference, and to instead look beyond Rio towards the broader civil society arena.
“We can’t assume the U.N. process is going to single-handedly achieve sustainability,” he said. “What other ways can we reignite the imagination of the public, news media, and policymakers? We need to present an alternative vision through civil society, and through NGO activity.”
For starters, Engelman encouraged advocates to reframe the admittedly sensitive issue in a more positive light.
“If people understood that this is in a woman’s interest to manage the timing of her own pregnancies, a lot of the controversy would disappear,” he said. “People still believe when we’re going to talk about population we are going to have to talk about some China-style policy where you can only have one child or maybe you can have two. Instead, the evidence is so strong that there are so many unintended pregnancies in the world.”
Barosso echoed the sentiment: “It’s just common sense – universal access to family planning is a key intervention for sustainable development.”
-Cameron Scherer (01/16/11)
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To purchase your copy of More: Population, Nature, and What Women Want at 20% off, click here.
To view more photos from the event, visit Worldwatch's Flickr page.
To view video footage of the event, click here.