Source: www.news.com.au
July 12, 2007
THE British Government is facing calls to discourage families from having more than two children to help the environment.
The Optimum Population Trust, a UK-based think tank, made the call in a new report unveiled today, saying record growth in Britain's birth rate was having an adverse impact on the environment.
The report's author, Professor John Guillebaud, said the Government should introduce “stop at two children” or “have one less” policies.
“Each new UK birth, through the inevitable resource consumption and pollution that UK affluence generates, is responsible for about 160 times as much climate-related environmental damage as a new birth in Ethiopia, or 35 times as much as a new birth in Bangladesh,” Prof Guillebaud's report says.
“A voluntary stop-at-two guideline should be adopted for couples in the UK who want to adopt greener lifestyles.
“It would aim to set an example.”
Official figures show that 669,531 babies were born in Britain last year.
The UK is experiencing its highest birth rate for more than three decades and has the highest number of teenage pregnancies in Europe.
The think tank's report contrasts with Australian Treasurer Peter Costello's push for Australian families to have three children - one for mum, one for dad and one for the country - to help increase the birth rate.
In Britain, the think tank argues, economic and political pressures to lift the birth rate “are hopelessly simplistic and should be resisted”.
“Far from panicking about baby shortages, almost every country can welcome fertility rates at or slightly below replacement level,” it said.
China introduced its strict one-child family planning policy in the late 1970s.
The policy is believed to have prevented millions of births.