It should not be controversial to say a population of 8 billion will have a grave impact on the climate | John Vidal

It's time to ditch the generations-long argument between those who blame overpopulation and those who worry about consumptionJohn Vidal is a former Guardian environment editorBy a remarkable coincidence, just as governments, campaigners and business owners are meeting in Egypt to address climate breakdown today, the world is officially crashing past the symbolic 8 billion population milestone . This means global population is on its way to 10 billion or more by the turn of the century.But there will be no attempt by countries at Cop27 to connect the inexorable growth of human numbers with the seemingly unstoppable rise in temperatures. Despite the fact that the several billion more people expected to be alive in 70 years' time will put more pressure on resources and will produce far more emissions, the population explosion is yet again being ignored, sidestepped or denied by world leaders.John Vidal was the Guardian's environment editor. He is the author of McLibel: Burger Culture on TrialDo you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here. Continue reading...