Reconsidering having kids because of climate change? You’re not alone
One in three women under 30 involved in environmental groups are so worried about climate change and the future of the planet they are reconsidering having kids, according to a new survey.
The survey focused on women’s views on climate change ahead of this year’s federal election, and found nine out of ten of them were "extremely concerned" about the issue.
For women between 30 and 39 years, 22 per cent said they were reconsidering having children or more children because of climate change.
Over 6,500 women were quizzed for the survey, which was conducted by The Australian Conservation Foundation and 1 Million Women.
28-year-old Felicity Lochhead, who studies sustainability at university, says climate change is a major factor in her thinking about the future, and it’s the same for having kids.
“If I don’t take it [climate change] into account for that big decision, but I’m taking it into account for all these little decision in my life… it doesn’t make sense if I ignore it,” she told Hack.
“What I’m concerned about is that it’s beyond an environmental issue… it swells into those spheres of economic issues and social issues as well.”
Last year, the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or the IPCC, warned the world has 12 years to act to avoid the catastrophic impacts of climate change.
Even if warming was stopped at 2 degrees above pre-industrial levels, the world will still be facing more extreme weather events - more bushfires, more droughts and floods, rising sea levels, and the loss of almost all the world’s coral reefs.
All this would happen in your children’s lifetime.
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