Letters | World’s 8 billion people must join hands to protect the environment and close the development gap

Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at [email protected] or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification.

On November 15, the world’s population passed the milestone of 8 billion people. Despite a declining growth rate in the past few decades, the global population is projected to surpass 9 billion around 2037 and 10 billion around 2058, according to the United Nations.

An expanding world population may exacerbate environmental problems and deepen the economic divide between developed and developing countries. The rate at which human beings are using natural resources exceeds the capacity of these resources to regenerate. Greenhouse gas emissions remain above the level required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Biodiversity will gradually diminish because of the expansion of agricultural land and human settlements.

For instance, middle-income countries, mostly in Asia, accounted for most of the population growth over the past decade, adding about 700 million people since 2011. India has added about 180 million people and is set to overtake China as the world’s most populous country next year. However, in 2021, an estimated 828 million people globally were affected by hunger and some 2.3 billion people worldwide experienced moderate or severe food shortage.