266. Is it OK to Have Children in a Climate Crisis?

Outrage + Optimism

In the final episode of our How to Live a Good Life series, Tom, Paul and Christiana discuss the personal quandary of whether or not to have children in the midst of what appears to be significant climate breakdown.

The questions they ponder are complex and philosophical: should we bring children into a world that is, some might say, collapsing? Would you consider having children is immoral, since more people living on the planet leads to greater consumption and emissions, thus exacerbating the problem? Or is having a child the greatest act of hope for the future that anyone can choose to make?

The hosts approach this issue from different perspectives, opening up about their personal lives and addressing questions and comments sent in by listeners. We hope to offer you some clarity on this topic, or at least some comfort that even the greatest minds in the climate space sometimes have to take leaps of faith.

This is the final episode in the series. We really hope you have enjoyed these episodes. As always, we would love to hear from you so please get in touch.

NOTES AND RESOURCES

• Your Kids are Not Doomed by Ezra Klein, NY Times, June 2022

• Four in 10 young people fear having children due to climate crisis The Guardian, September 2021

• ‘I am starting to panic about my child’s future’: climate scientists wary of starting families, The Guardian, May 2024

• Masters of War - Bob Dylan

• Resources and Consumption: Data from Population Matters

• The Whirligig by Paul Fleishman

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