Sir, – I welcome the call for a "new dialogue" from Archbishop Eamon Martin and others regarding the existential threat that is climate change (September 25th).
May I start the ball rolling by suggesting that they endorse and promote a global campaign for universal access to family planning as a matter of urgency?
According to the Pew Research Centre, the global population is expected to increase by 38 per cent by 2050, from 6.9 billion people in 2010 to 9.6 billion, with more than 90 per cent of that growth coming from developing countries. Africa’s population is projected to increase the most and make up a greater share of the global population by 2050 (25 per cent, according to Pew).
The global population is currently growing by around 74 million per year, according to the UN.
This expected population growth will increase pressure on our planet’s finite resources, such as water and land, and contribute to increases in greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbating climate change. It will also contribute to increased competition for resources, leading to poverty, war, violence and migration.
Millions of women worldwide do not have access to contraception. Providing free birth control to women in developing countries would help slow the projected population explosion, ease pressure on our planet and reduce poverty, not to mention allowing them to take control of their own bodies and futures.
The trouble is that, ironically, the very “sacred texts” that Archbishop Martin and other faith leader mention in their letter are often cited by those in power to justify the denial of access to contraception to women across the globe. – Yours, etc,
ROB SADLIER,
Rathfarnham.
Dublin 16.