Marking Milestones for the Future: 8 Billionth Birth Calls for Celebration and Worry amongst the United Nations
For most of the 21st century, the world population has been at approximately 7 billion.[1] This number would not have even been imaginable in 1927 when the world population was approximately 2 billion[2]. In November 2022, the United Nations announced that the world population reached 8 billion.[3] While this new world population is a cause for celebration, the United Nations Population Fund (“UNFPA”) warned that this milestone calls for an increased responsibility for UN member states to protect people and the planet.[4]
The UNFPA warns that the overall population growth will slowly decline if more is not done to promote a sustainable future.[5] Although it took only 11 years for the population to increase from 7 to 8 billion, the UN has predicted that it would take another 15 years before we reach 9 billion in approximately 2037 and another 22 years before we reach 10 billion by 2058.[6] UNFPA chief, Natalia Kane, stated that “a world of 8 billion is a milestone for humanity – the result of longer lifespans, reductions in poverty, and declining maternal and childhood mortality. Yet, focusing on numbers alone distracts us from the real challenge we face: Securing a world in which progress can be enjoyed equally and sustainably.”[7]
One of the biggest challenges to population growth and sustainable development is climate change. Population growth has driven energy consumption at an unsustainable rate. According to the United Nations, it has a part to play in environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, and the loss of biodiversity.[8]
The United Nations emphasizes that all nations must be prepared to provide its citizens with a high quality of life, regardless of population growth or decline. In an effort to strengthen global peace and protection, the United Nations has implemented a list of Sustainable Development Goals (“SDGs”) that must be met by 2030.[9] The SDGs are goals that address poverty, inequality, and climate change in order to achieve a more sustainable future.[10]
While the new world population represents a milestone for both the past and future of humanity, the United Nations emphasized the need to mitigate global challenges and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, all while also prioritizing human rights.[11]
Kayla Towler is a staff member of Fordham International Law Journal Volume XLV.I
[1] See United Nations, Milestone for humanity’ as UN Celebrates 8 Billionth Birth (Nov. 12, 2022), https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/11/1130632.
[2] See id.
[3] See id.
[4] See id.
[5] See id.
[6] See Daniel Victor, World Population Reaches 8 Billion, U.N. Says, N.Y. TIMES (Nov. 11, 2022), https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/15/world/world-population-8-billion.html.
[7] See United Nations, supra note 1.
[8] See id.
[9] See Victor, supra note 4.
[10] See Katrin Eggenberger, Has the UN reached its sustainable development goals? Yes and No, World Economic Forum (Nov. 11, 2022), https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/11/the-un-sustainable-development-goals-a-positive-perspective/.
[11] See United Nations, supra note 5.
This is a student blog post and in no way represents the views of the Fordham International Law Journal.