Would you have children in the next 5 years, thinking about climate change?

[Howbigaretherisks]

I have fertility issues so it would not be easy anyway but sometimes I get so broody and start dreaming of having a child - always thought I would have them one day. I love kids and always saw them in my future.

But I'm also concerned about what the world will be like over the next 100 years, with crop failures and access to clean water making things harder, even for high income countries. Populations in rich countries will likely be insulated from the worst of it for a good long time, many decades hopefully. But things are incredibly bad for a large percentage of the global population already. It is only going to get worse.

Would you have more children, or start having them if you haven't already, at this point?

They account for almost of 3rd of global carbon emissions. Doesn’t sound like they are very worried about climate change at all.

China is planning fo peak carbon emissions by 2030, and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Do yes, China takes climate change very seriously!

Yes I agree with you completely on this. We have been extraordinarily lucky to live at this time in particular, probably the best it's been throughout human history. Especially when you include stuff like fertility treatments that are so advanced nowadays.

No one should

Climate change wouldn't bother me. The state of the world would.

Maybe if your child excels at school/uni, gets a high flying job and you gift them a hefty house deposit, their life might be OK! For a far greater percentage of the population its a struggle. And I don't see it getting better.

Public services are on their knees. More teachers are going to get burnt out and leave the profession so if you want a good education in future, you're probably talking private school. Can't see how much longer the NHS can continue, except for those who cannot pay privately, and the waiting lists for those people will be long. Crime is on the up and we don't have enough police, prison places or even Courts now to hear all the cases. Retirement age will continue to increase and state pension will be means tested (its inevitable).

Then you have the rest of the world and all the issues there. But this post would be extremely long if I started on that!

Yep. I would. But I am an optimist. Maybe that kid will turn out to be the scientist that helps combat climate change?

@Alcyoneus China's emissions per person is much lower then nations such as the US,Canada, and Australia.

Pretty sure people aren’t not having babies in the developed world because of climate change, it’s because it’s too expensive, better education, women in the workplace I could go on and yes it has a detrimental effect on the aging population but it’s a good thing we actually have the choice over our reproductive health.

as for climate change when those in charge stop flying everywhere at the drop of a hat, stop driving their massive gas guzzler, fit all their homes with heat pumps and stop throwing up hundreds of houses on green space and flood plains I’ll think about giving up my tiny 1.2 litre car which I need to do my job in community nursing

I would if I could.

without children of the future, there is no future.

humans have the innate ability to change the future, birth them!

It IS worrying, but it's just unfortunate for us that it's happening now. In another 100 years or so it will have evened itself out.

Look at this way: if it's going to be a fight to the death for scarce resources, I want a bunch of healthy blood-thirsty teenagers who have some filial loyalty to me on my team 😂

I agree with all this.

I hope the state pension won’t be means tested when I get it, I’m living frugally to save so will be pissed off of I’m penalised for doing so.

my husband and I both work in the area of climate change (I was at the recent COP28 summit for example, regularly speak to world leading climate scientists etc. My husband works on solutions). I expect we have more knowledge of climate change than most people on the street (have actually read the IPCC reports and speak with the authors for example). And we have two young children.

We still have a (short) window of opportunity to fairly effectively deal with climate change. So there is still hope, although of course we aren’t moving fast enough. But each brutal year we have of unprecedented weather events - and the science tells us they are unprecedented- the more politicians and ordinary people are waking up to the issues.

the idea that China and the US are doing nothing is farcical. They are not doing enough, not near enough. But China is rolling out more renewables than anywhere else on this planet, it’s starting to look at methane etc. The US’s inflation reduction act is changing how the US does business and how it powers itself (and that changes economies globally).

there is so much interesting work being done around the world.

sometimes I feel down about it all and that we are screwed. And the science for what might happen at tipping points is really worrying. I also think the implications of drought, mass migration because of climate change, working in hot temps etc just aren’t understood by most people. If the world chooses not to limit global temperature rises, the impact of that will be felt around the world, including in the UK.

But for now, I think it is better to try to focus on solutions.

This strategy hadn't occurred to me

Really interesting perspective @climatelife

Have you read Hannah Ritchie's book as mentioned by another poster above?

I mean, a meteorite could destroy us all in a second. Or in five years, ten years, fifty...

The natural world is terrifying and unpredictable. So no I don't factor climate change into my decision to have kids

I also think the implications of drought, mass migration because of climate change, working in hot temps etc just aren’t understood by most people.

Yes.

I think a lot of people don't really think about what the reality of this actually looks like, if it comes to pass.

They think oh it won't affect me, and zone out.

I haven’t, although I attended a small event with her recently where she spoke on stage and was very good.

Children are great btw - I am very, very glad we had ours and now want to make sure we leave the planet in decent shape for them.

Just to say, public services are on their knees because of a failure to plan and prepare for the future. They thought that by projection that everyone would replace themselves, migration would be equal and by the time the elderly needed care or health services, they would die.
Instead, people have had less babies, the elderly are living longer and the working people can't keep up. That's why there isn't enough money and not enough to encourage people into essential professions.

So, the elderly population saved for 15 years of retirement, however, because of better living conditions and healthcare, they are living 25 years. So the money doesn't stretch. A care home before they retired was say £600pwk but now is £1200pwk. A £300,000 house (which is decent) will cover 4.8 years. So, the working population, has to bridge the gap. Which, in turn, causes burn-out and stops some of them working. Bare in mind that the working population is less than the elderly generation. The working population decides to have less babies for whatever reason (socially, genetically, financially etc) and when the working population retires, their children have to work 3x harder and longer than their grandparents.

Just to say too that this is not localised to our country, it is every country in the world. If China has relaxed the 1 child rule because they can see the economy cannot handle it, we should all be concerned economically.

I don't fear our children's future, I fear my own.

I don't buy that 2 lots of dinosaurs died because of meteor strikes, it's a bit coincidental for it to happen twice. It was climate change 100%
I am concerned about the lack of trees and removal of plants because without them absorbing the carbon, it will build up. All about balance.
Oh, and how do the politicians get to COP22/23/24? I doubt they walk or cycle...... Surely they could skype?

I mean - before people have children, it is common to look at the budget and ensure you can afford to feed them.

If climate change drove food prices up massively, that would mean a shift in what is affordable. So maybe people choose to have one kid and not any more. As one example.

There is a whole lot of middle ground between a meteorite knocking us into oblivion, and our lives continuing on as they are now.

Not climate change, but general shit-ness of the world. Cost of living, price of houses etc. If it had been a year later I wouldn't have had a child. The future looks very bleak for young people now unless their parents are wealthy. Luckily I'll be able to help my DC with a house when it comes to it, but this wouldn't have been possible if I had more than one

I wouldn't have children now, definitely not. The future for them is really worrying.

Yes because it’s a basic driver of life in science term to pass on your dna. It’s a primitive urge. Also, we as a species need to die out at some point. We evolved from something so why should our species stay in a static state? Why are we so sure we a especially immune to what dishes out?

everything is in such a fine balance. Not having kids won’t save this species or ur planet as we know. It. We are so good at destroying everything.

Yes because it’s a basic driver of life in science term to pass on your dna. It’s a primitive urge.

Agree it is definitely a primitive urge to want a child. I feel that wanting on a very primitive level at times but...I don't want to make such an important decision based on a biological urge.

For men, having sex with lots of women is a primatuve urge. Monogamy is a man-made concept. So I think arguments based on primatuve urges are fundamentally flawed, not to mention I don't think many women feel this strong urge or we'd all be having babies as teens.