Birthrates are plummeting worldwide. Can governments turn the tide?
Back to Topic
Click to Print
Useful Websites
Glossary Term Selection
Nations are deploying baby bonuses, subsidised childcare and parental leave to try to reverse a rapidly declining fertility rate – largely to no avail.
By Tory Shepherd
Sophia and her partner have been thinking about having children for about five years. They are concerned about humanity’s impact on biodiversity loss and climate change and worried about what the future holds.
‘Our conversation has two parts,’ says Sophia, a communications specialist who preferred not to use her full name. ‘One is: what’s the contribution of a child to the global [climate] crisis? The second one is [about] what would their life be like.
‘I live with heaps of grief about biodiversity collapse. I think about the future and what the future of a child would be like in that sense.’
The fear of climate change has led to couples having fewer babies; about one in five female climate scientists say they will have no children or fewer children because of the crisis.
It’s not the only reason for what government...
Want to see the rest of this article?
Would you like to see the rest of this article and all the other benefits that Issues Online can provide with?
- Useful related articles
- Video and multimedia references
- Statistical information and reference material
- Glossary of terms
- Key Facts and figures
- Related assignments
- Resource material and websites
