By John Wayne on Wednesday, 27 August 2025
Category: Race, Culture, Nation

The Birth Dearth: Why Climate Anxiety Isn’t the Culprit, By Mrs. Vera West and James Reed

The global fertility rate is in freefall, with most countries now below the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. Headlines scream that climate anxiety is to blame, with outlets like CNBC and The Guardian claiming fears of a "climate apocalypse" are stopping people from having children. In Sweden, the poster child for environmental consciousness, nearly three-quarters of people worry about climate change, and two-thirds say it should influence family size decisions. Yet, a new study reveals that this concern is little more than lip service when it comes to actual fertility choices. So, if climate anxiety isn't driving the "birth dearth," what is? Let's cut through the noise and examine the real culprits behind the global decline in birth rates.

The idea that climate anxiety is causing people to forgo parenthood makes for a gripping headline. After all, who wouldn't hesitate to bring kids into a world supposedly doomed by rising temperatures and melting ice caps? A 2022 Pew Research survey found climate change to be a top concern in 12 of 19 mostly-rich countries, particularly in Europe. In Sweden, where environmentalism is practically a national pastime, you'd expect climate fears to weigh heavily on family planning. Yet, a study by Kirsti Jylhä and colleagues, published in 2025, tells a different story. Despite 75% of Swedes expressing worry about climate change, those with higher anxiety don't have significantly fewer children or desire smaller families. The correlations are weak, barely a blip on the radar.

Even a separate study, which found that people "very worried" about climate change were 3% less likely to want kids, underscores how minor this effect is. Compare that to the stark reality: Sweden's fertility rate is 1.45, far below replacement, and countries like South Korea (0.78) and Italy (1.2) are even lower. If climate anxiety were a major driver, we'd see stronger evidence in the data, not just in sensational headlines. The truth is, people might say they're worried about the planet, but when it comes to the deeply personal decision to have children, other factors take centre stage, which for us conservatives, is a good thing.

So, what's really behind the global fertility crash? The answer lies in economics, culture, and policy, not apocalyptic visions of climate doom. First, the economic squeeze is undeniable. In the UK, house prices are over eight times the median income, making it nearly impossible for young couples to afford a home, let alone raise kids. Stagnant wages and rising costs of childcare further erode the financial case for parenthood. Posts on X from analysts like Noah Carl highlight housing affordability as a far bigger barrier than climate concerns, and the data backs this up: countries with the highest housing costs, like the UK and Australia, have some of the lowest birth rates.

Cultural shifts are equally significant. As women pursue higher education and careers — women's lib "brilliant career" achievements — they're delaying marriage and childbirth. In East Asia, where fertility rates are rock-bottom, societal pressures around work and academic success often leave little room for family life. South Korea's gruelling work culture, for instance, pushes many to prioritise careers over kids, with the fertility rate plummeting to 0.78 in 2023. Even in Sweden, with its generous parental leave and childcare support, cultural trends toward individualism and delayed family formation keep birth rates low.

Then there's the policy gap. While Sweden offers robust family support, many countries don't. In the UK, inadequate parental leave and childcare subsidies make parenting a financial gamble. A 2023 Lancet study notes that urbanisation and access to contraception have driven fertility declines since the 1970s, long before climate anxiety became a buzzword. These structural and cultural shifts, not fears of a warming planet, are reshaping demographics worldwide.

If the evidence for climate anxiety's role is so weak, why does the narrative persist? It's partly because it fits a broader environmentalist agenda, amplified by media outlets eager for clicks, and elites eager for social control. Stories of young people swearing off parenthood to "save the planet" are emotionally charged and align with progressive calls for population control to curb emissions. But this oversimplification ignores the complexity of fertility decisions, which are deeply rooted in personal and economic realities. By focusing on climate anxiety, we risk distracting from the real issues, like housing crises and inadequate family policies, that governments can actually address.

The global birth dearth is a real challenge, with implications for aging populations and economic sustainability. But blaming climate anxiety is a red herring. Policymakers need to focus on tangible solutions: affordable housing, better wages, and robust family support systems. In the meantime, let's stop pretending that climate fears are emptying cribs. The data from Sweden and beyond shows that while people may pay lip service to environmental concerns, their decisions about having children are driven by far more immediate pressures. It's time to tackle those head-on, rather than chasing apocalyptic woke Leftist myths.

https://dailysceptic.org/2025/08/22/is-the-birth-rate-low-because-of-climate-anxiety/

"Fertility has fallen substantially in recent years, and not just in the rich world. The vast majority of countries now have 'below replacement' fertility—that is, a birth rate less than 2.1 children per woman. Only in Africa, the Middle East and parts of Central Asia can you still find birth rates in the 3s or 4s. And in parts of Europe and East Asia, you can find birth rates below 1.5.

At the same time, concerns about climate change are widespread. In a 2022 survey of 19 mostly-rich countries, Pew Research asked respondents about five global threats: climate change; online misinformation; cyberattacks; the global economy; and infectious diseases. They found that climate change was seen as the greatest or second greatest threat in 12 out of 19 countries—including every European country sampled.

Could the one be linked to the other? Is the global fertility crash due, at least in part, to worries over the climate? You'd certainly get that impression browsing the headlines. "Climate change is making people think twice about having children", reports CNBC. "Climate 'apocalypse' fears stopping people having children," states the Guardian.

A new study sheds some light on the matter. Kirsti Jylhä and colleagues examined the relationship between fertility and climate anxiety in Sweden, drawing on two national surveys.

Incidentally, the land of ABBA and IKEA is a particularly useful setting in which to conduct such a study owing to its self-perceived status as a 'humanitarian superpower'. If there's anywhere that people would stop having children to try and save the planet, it's Sweden.

Confirming previous studies, the authors documented a high level of concern about climate change. Almost three quarters of Swedes said they were either "somewhat" or "very" worried, while less than 10% said they were "not at all" worried. What's more, about two thirds of Swedes said that people should take account of the environment when deciding how many children to have.

However, when they dug a little further, they found that the relationship between fertility and climate anxiety was weak. Individuals who said they were more worried about the climate did not have substantially fewer children. Nor did they have a noticeably different ideal family size. Across several different analyses, the researchers picked up a couple of statistically significant correlations—but they were small in magnitude.

Despite the fact that most Swedes think you should take account of the environment when deciding how many children to have, few, it seems, actually do.

Incidentally, another recent study found marginally stronger relationships between fertility and climate anxiety. For example, individuals "very worried" about climate change were about 3 percentage points less likely to say they wanted to have a child in the future than those who were not or merely "somewhat" worried. However, even this is a pretty small difference.

Overall, there is little evidence that concern about climate change is an important contributor to low fertility—though this could change in the future.

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