The world population exceeded 8 billion yesterday, according to the official estimate of the United Nations, which sees in it “an important milestone in human development” and a reminder, in the midst of COP27, of “our shared responsibility to take care of our planet “. For the UN, “this unprecedented growth” – the Earth took only twelve years to grow from 7 to 8 billion – is the result “of a progressive increase in the duration of life thanks to the progress made in terms of public health, nutrition, personal hygiene and medicine”. This population growth poses formidable challenges to the poorest countries, where it is most concentrated. “The persistence of high levels of fertility, driving rapid population growth, is both a symptom and a cause of slow development progress,” writes the UN. “But our impact on the planet is determined much more by our behavior than by our numbers,” nuance Jennifer Sciubba, researcher in residence at the Wilson Center think tank, in the middle of a climate conference.
The world population exceeded 8 billion yesterday, according to the official estimate of the United Nations, which sees in it “an important milestone in human development” and a reminder, in the midst of COP27, of “our shared responsibility to take care of our planet “. For the UN, “this unprecedented growth” – the Earth has not…