We all know that the world is full of crazy contradictions, so here’s another one for the Retire Better community to ponder.
Can governments fight climate change and simultaneously encourage mothers to have more children?
Numerous developed countries are experiencing historically low birth rates. The situation is most acute in east Asia and southern Europe. South Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan and China are all ageing societies where population growth is far below the replacement level of 2.1 children per women.
In Greece, the government is so concerned by its low fertility rate – 1.30 – that it has introduced cash payments of €2000 to new mothers.
But is it right for European countries to encourage women to have more children when at the same time they’re increasing the restrictions placed on the entry of refugees and the evidence is unarguable that human-induced climate change is imperilling the planet?
This video from The Guardian presents two sides of the argument. We meet a community group of doctors and philanthropist who financially support women to have children. These women live on smaller islands that are suffering from what looks like inexorable population decline.
But we also meet an activist who says baby incentives are nationalist bunk, driven by governments that care only for money and ‘growth economics.’ For people like her, the problem is that the global population is already unsustainable. There’s no more room on Planet Earth for anyone else!
As for governments, the best that can be said of them is that they ‘greenwashing’ the climate crisis.
Each of us will have our own ideas, but for Retire Better members, our challenge is to understand and engage with the great issues of our times, such as climate change and social trends. That’s how we stay Switched ON!
