Achieve Sustainability by Easing Population to 4 Billion by 2200

ABSTRACT The past century of massive increases in human population and resource use has seen many undesirable environmental effects, ranging from biodiversity loss to climate change. But a research gap exists, as the ultimate causes are often not described with precision or mentioned at all. In this study, metrics of biodiversity, consumption, and pollution show extremely strong correlations when charted against human population size and its per capita impacts. We describe causal mechanisms for these correlations. Then, using available data, we show that slowing and gradually reversing population growth to ∼4 billion or less by 2200, while moderating per capita impacts, is the path toward sustainability. Among the benefits are habitat recovery and conservation of wild species, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, reduced conflict over resources, and the reduction of global poverty.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Sustainable Development
Published
2026-07-26
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.71358
Primary Topic
Innovation, Sustainability, Human-Machine Systems
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00

Funders

Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Achieve Sustainability by Easing Population to 4 Billion by 2200

Lawrence Whitmore, William E. Rees, Khaoula Houssini, Estelle Sidze et al.
Sustainable Development
Innovation, Sustainability, Human-Machine Systems
article

Achieve Sustainability by Easing Population to 4 Billion by 2200

Lawrence Whitmore, William E. Rees, Khaoula Houssini, Estelle Sidze, Philip Cafaro, Mohammad Mainul Islam, Αnastasia Pseiridis, Enrique J. Derlindati, S. Irudaya Rajan, Jane O’Sullivan, Mark Keegan
article en

Abstract

ABSTRACT The past century of massive increases in human population and resource use has seen many undesirable environmental effects, ranging from biodiversity loss to climate change. But a research gap exists, as the ultimate causes are often not described with precision or mentioned at all. In this study, metrics of biodiversity, consumption, and pollution show extremely strong correlations when charted against human population size and its per capita impacts. We describe causal mechanisms for these correlations. Then, using available data, we show that slowing and gradually reversing population growth to ∼4 billion or less by 2200, while moderating per capita impacts, is the path toward sustainability. Among the benefits are habitat recovery and conservation of wild species, reduced greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants, reduced conflict over resources, and the reduction of global poverty.

Sustainable Development
National University of Salta (AR), Vancouver Community College (CA), The University of Queensland (AU), Panteion University (GR), University of Dhaka (BD), FH Kärnten (AT), African Population and Health Research Center (KE), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram (IN), Columbia University (US), Colorado State University (US), Tsinghua University (CN)
Hellenic Academic Libraries Link
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Innovation, Sustainability, Human-Machine Systems
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.