More people means more carbon emissions

Fishing boats on the shore of Lake Malawi. ‘Declining fish stocks have been blamed on global warming.’ Photograph: AFP/Getty

I found the information in your graphics feature (The climate crisis explained in 10 charts, I November) useful but was disappointed that it did not include a table on population growth. This is important because every additional person is another carbon emitter. Also, increasing population growth exacerbates the effects of climate change – such as leading to more people having to live in areas previously avoided because of flooding risks or, conversely, prone to drought.

Climate change can take the blame for issues more directly linked to population growth. For example, a recent BBC report blamed Malawi’s declining fish stocks on global warming. No mention was made that in my lifetime its population has risen from under 5 million to about 20 million. With that growth in demand, it could well be that the overfishing is the real cause.
Nigel Long
Keynsham, Somerset

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