Population: careful now

There seems to be few issues more controversial in the Green movement than that of population. You take a basic fact like the world has a finite amount of resources and therefore human beings can't expand indefinitely and before you know it you're planning the eradication of 80% of your fellow Earthlings.

There are a number of problems you might face if you were to seek to develop an actual policy on population.

Firstly, there are no votes in it what so ever. None at all. Which means if votes are the sort of thing you actually like receiving you need to consider how much of your time you want to spend on it.

Secondly, almost any measure that you suggest to deal with the 'problem' will be hopelessly unrealistic. That might be because you've just advocated something utterly misanthropic or completely ineffectual.

Thirdly simply by raising the topic you invite speculation as to how fit you are to hold any opinion what-so-ever, partly because people so rarely discuss the issue. Do you really want to taint every political statement you ever make with the suspicion that you might be secretly plotting granny's early demise?

The current Green Party population policy is disappointingly sensible despite the fact that we are, I believe, the only political party that has actually seen fit to have one. If you're going to have a reputation for being ruthless authoritarians or crazy haired loons you should at least play up to it a little - where's the wacky proposal to depopulate Denmark or to enforce an annual hibernation in the mountain caves of Suffolk? A glorious opportunity for humour missed - it's almost as if the Greens were posing as a proper political party or something.

For me the most pressing issue facing the world is climate change, climate chaos, funny weather, what ever you want to call it. Population growth only interests me in that context, but as soon as you look at it you realise what a false 'problem' it is for climate change in the short or medium term.

For a start all humans do not equally effect the climate. A million Tanzanians don't equal a million Britons - their average carbon footprint is just a fraction of that of the average Brit. Which means the environmental impact of a million Tanzanians could be offset a number of times over by abolishing Tesco. Which would only involve a small amount of coercion and a large amount of joy, not a sterilisation or human rights violation in sight. So why make work for yourself?

Population discussions in the context of climate change completely miss the point that any action you'd advocate to reduce global population levels (which might be able to shrink it a little over a hundred years) simply don't measure up to the social changes that would make significant reduction in our footprint, and are thousands of times more controversial.

Human activity is causing climate change so let's try to eradicate the harmful activities not the human beings. I'm certainly not opposed to discussing population, which is not an inherently racist topic, but I'm yet to be convinced that reducing the human population is as worth while a goal as liberating them.

Controversial post on population

The Green Party has a population policy. [Shifts on seat nervously]

This is it... what do you think?

POPULATION

Background and Principles

P100 All Green Party policies are based on the principles of ecological sustainability, equity and justice.

P101 There is a limit to the level of ecological impact the Earth can sustain. The number of people on the planet, their levels of consumption and their local and global impacts are key factors determining how far the Earth's ability to renew its resources and to support all life is compromised. Even within this limit, high rates of population growth, as well as local depopulation can have a damaging effect on sustainability, equity and justice.

P102 'Carrying capacity' is the term used to describe the population that can be sustainably supported in any given region. It is not a fixed number but depends on consumption patterns.

P103 There is a need to explicitly consider population since, if it is ignored indefinitely, the risk of over-consumption of natural resources will increase, leading to conflict and ultimately a reduction in carrying capacity.

P104 There are many causes of population growth and some of these must be addressed to avoid overpopulation. Causes may be as basic as a lack of family planning information and contraceptives. Inequality and lack of opportunities can result in people having more children than they would otherwise want. On a wider scale, it has been observed that populations often increase following wars, social strife and environmental disasters.

P105 Green Party policies as a whole aim to reduce inequality, both global and local and to make educational and work opportunities available to all, throughout life. Green Party policies also aim to avoid social and environmental disruption that can trigger population growth.

P106 The Green Party holds that the number of children people have should be a matter of free choice.

P107 Long-term trends in population size are proper considerations for public debate and government policy in order to plan housing, health, education and other needs.

P108 The Green Party notes that the population of the UK currently supports its way of life by consuming more resources than can be sustainably supplied from within the UK, and more than its fair share of global resources - often to the detriment of the people and the environment in producing areas.

P109 A measure of the impact of a population is its ecological footprint. The Green Party believes that it is essential to reduce the UK's total ecological footprint. To this end the Green Party aims to reduce total resource consumption, ensuring maximum use of renewable resources, in order to reduce per capita consumption. This will ensure that the UK population leaves a reduced ecological footprint, eventually enabling it to become sustainable.

P110 The Green Party believes that it will be socially and environmentally beneficial for a decrease in resource consumption to be brought about by a range of policies. These policies will reduce overall resource use, maximise the use of technologies based on renewable energy, adopt a sustainable approach to economic development, design, planning and infrastructure, and will promote socially and environmentally sustainable population levels.

P111 The Green Party has a liberal migration policy and wants greater global justice and equality, so people who migrate can do so on the basis of choice, not economic hardship. Where migration patterns increase or decrease population levels it is essential that social, economic and environmental pressures are mitigated in such a way which fully respects the rights of migrants and existing local populations.

P112 There is a need for regional economic and land use policies that are sustainable with a stable or falling population rather than dependent on a continuing influx of, often exploited, labour from elsewhere in the UK or overseas. The Green Party seeks a more balanced and just approach to regional development in the UK so that there are not huge growth pressures in some areas and none in others.

P113 As the birth rate falls, and the so-called "baby boom" generation approaches retirement, the population will be one with a higher proportion of the elderly and very elderly.

P114 With Green health policies emphasising the need to further improve health with prevention rather than cure, we look forward to a society in which people of all ages continue to work as long as they wish. This, together with the reduced consumption of resources and the increased commitment to social welfare characteristic of a Green society, means that the increased proportion of elderly people will be economically manageable. We reject an economic order that supposes the need for an ever-growing younger population to support the retired.

P115 The UK, as one of the world's richest countries, owes the rest of the world far more in overseas aid than it now gives. The UK casts its ecological footprint over the world reflecting the real costs of a high, and still growing, population with high consumption. A Green government would seek to help poorer countries to develop their economies in a sustainable way so that migration was based on choice rather than economic necessity.

P116 It is essential that women have greater control over reproductive health care. Many of the world's poorest countries have formal government policies - often assisted by development agencies - which further this objective and also thereby lead to more stable, sustainable population levels. The Green Party acknowledges that poverty alleviation and education are crucial for women in poor countries to be able to exercise their reproductive health rights and take control over their own family planning. The UK and other rich countries should do more to support initiatives - both globally and locally - which uphold women's rights over reproductive health, increase education and which address poverty and potential pressures on the global environment. Given the much greater impact on the world's resources each person in a rich country has, the rich countries have a major responsibility to minimise their own impact as well as provide resources to poorer countries to ensure that they can develop sustainably.