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Who is Heating Up the Planet?
A Closer Look at Population and Global Warming
 Factsheet: Global Warming & Population (PDF)
Life on Earth is dependent on carbon dioxide (CO2)
to regulate the temperature of our planet, but too
much can create a heat-trapping blanket over our
atmosphere. In the last century, unsustainable population
growth and excessive consumption have raised levels of CO2
so dramatically that the earth's climate has been altered in
ways never experienced before. Agricultural expansion and
forest depletion have multiplied emissions of greenhouse gases
like CO2, but it is our dependence on fossil fuels that propels
monumental atmospheric change. When we burn fossil fuels
such as coal, oil, and gas, we release unsustainable levels of
CO2—the primary global warming culprit. Those of us living
in the developed world bear a majority of the responsibility
for reversing this disturbing trend.
Agricultural expansion and forest depletion have multiplied
emissions of greenhouse gases like CO2, but it is our
dependence on fossil fuels that propels monumental atmospheric
change. When we burn fossil fuels such as coal, oil and
gas, we release unsustainable levels of CO2—the primary
global warming culprit. Those of us living in the developed
world bear a majority of the responsibility for reversing this
disturbing trend.
But How Much Difference
Can a Few Degrees Make? Plenty
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)1
projects that during our children's lifetimes, global warming will
raise the average temperatures on Earth within a range of 2.7° to
10.5° F. The ecological impacts of such a rapid increase include
rising sea levels, coastal erosion, decreasing agricultural productivity,
and accelerated extinction rates of plants and animals due
to their inability to adapt to the
changing climate. Global warming
also poses threats to human
health through increased
droughts, hurricanes, tornadoes,
and floods
Health Consequences of
Global Warming:
Scientists project that as
warmer temperatures spread
north and south from the tropics
and to higher elevations,
malaria-carrying mosquitoes
will spread with them. This
would put as much as 65 percent
of the world's population
at risk of infection by malaria—
an increase of 20 percent.2
Global Warming — It's Not Just a Matter of Numbers
In the 20th century, human population multiplied from
1.6 billion to 6.1 billion people. During this same period of
time, CO2 emissions grew twelvefold.3
Population, global warming, and consumption patterns are
inextricably linked in their collective global environmental
impact. Industrialized countries' wasteful consumption patterns
demonstrate that it is not just the size of a country's population
that influences climate change but also the proportion
of resources a country consumes. Although the United States
makes up only about 5 percent of the world's population, we
create approximately 25 percent of the pollution that causes
global warming.4
The United States is the biggest global warming polluter,
contributing greenhouse gas emissions primarily from transportation,
industry and power plant sources. We have built our
nation on a foundation of unsustainable fossil fuel dependence,
jeopardizing the planet's future.
Fact: If America's autos were a separate country, they
would be the world's fifth largest global warming
polluter.5
Even in developing countries
with high population growth
rates, global warming pollution
is still far lower than that
of developed countries such
as the United States. However,
the United Nations estimates
that developing
countries will contribute
more than half of total emissions
by the mid-21st
century. 6 As developing
countries' contribution to
global emissions grows, population
size and growth rates
will become significant factors
in magnifying the impacts
of global warming.
Turning Down the Heat
Reducing the world's heavy reliance
on fossil fuels can help us turn down the
heat and curb human-induced global
warming. We must all work together to
advocate for federal policies that reduce
our fossil fuel dependence, promote renewable
wind and solar energy sources,
and encourage individuals to live in
ways that have less impact on the
planet. We must also work to slow population
growth by increasing access to
voluntary family planning and reproductive
health programs so that families
are better able to choose the number
and spacing of their children. The Sierra
Club's Global Population and Environment
Program supports efforts to empower
women and families through
education about responsible reproductive
health and natural resource use—
vital components of the global goal to
secure a healthier environmental future.
Support Slowing Global Population Growth
- Encourage your decision-makers to support family planning policies and programs.
Help Change Our Energy Dependence
- Encourage your decision-makers to promote renewable (wind and solar) energy and fuel
cell technology.
- As you replace your appliances, select the most energy-efficient models possible.
Make Sustainable Transportation Choices
- Encourage your decision-makers to raise mile per gallon standards for all automobiles.
- Your car contributes to global warming.Make sure the car you buy is the most efficient
one that suits your needs.
- Take public transit, walk, or bicycle. If you can't, combine trips and carpool.
Footnotes
1. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) in 1988. The role of the IPCC, a panel of the world's leading scientists, is to assess the risk of human-induced climate change on a scientific, comprehensive,
objective, open and transparent basis.
2. Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability—Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of
IPCC. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. http://www.grida.no/climate/ipcc_tar/wg2/index.htm
3. The State of the World Population 2001. Footprints and
Milestones: Population and Environmental Change. United Nations Population Fund. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/index.html
4. Beyond Economic Growth.
World Bank Institute's Development Education Program (DEP). http://www.worldbank.org/depweb/beyond/beyondbw/begbw_14.pdf
5. The State of the World
Population 2001. Footprints and Milestones: Population and Environmental Change. United Nations Population Fund. http://www.unfpa.org/swp/2001/english/index.html
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