Sustainability, population and reproductive ethics.

Area of Science:

• Environmental Science
• Ethics
• Demography

Background:

• Sustainability goals, including the UN Sustainable Development Goals, aim for environmental protection, community strength, and prosperity.
• Current human population numbers and economic activity are driving unsustainability, moving humanity away from these goals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the ethical dimensions linking sustainability, population dynamics, and reproductive choices.
• To analyze the scientific and philosophical literature on these interconnected issues.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of existing scientific and philosophical literature.
• Examination of factors contributing to population growth and unsustainability.

Main Results:

• Excessive human population and associated economic activity are primary causes of unsustainability.
• Achieving sustainability necessitates a sustainable human population, estimated around three billion.
• Addressing population growth requires tackling unwanted fertility, coerced fertility, population momentum, and wanted fertility.

Conclusions:

• Promoting reproductive ethics, particularly the ideal of small families (one-child families), is essential.
• Establishing small-family norms as a global ethical standard can contribute to population stabilization and sustainability.