Climate ‘apocalypse’ fears stopping people having children – study
Survey of 600 people finds some parents regret having offspring for same reason
Damian Carrington Environment editor
Fri 27 Nov 2020 06.00 EST
Last modified on Fri 27 Nov 2020 12.13 EST
People worried about the climate crisis are deciding not to have children because of fears that their offspring would have to struggle through a climate apocalypse, according to the first academic study of the issue.
The researchers surveyed 600 people aged 27 to 45 who were already factoring climate concerns into their reproductive choices and found 96% were very or extremely concerned about the wellbeing of their potential future children in a climate-changed world. One 27-year-old woman said: “I feel like I can’t in good conscience bring a child into this world and force them to try and survive what may be apocalyptic conditions.â€
These views were based on very pessimistic assessments of the impact of global heating on the world, the researchers said. One respondent, for example, said it would “rival world war one in its sheer terrorâ€. The research also found that some people who were already parents expressed regret over having their children.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/27/climate-apocalypse-fears-stopping-people-having-children-study