Concerned about climate change, more than 40% of childless Australian women hesitate to give birth

More than 40% of childless women in Australia are reluctant to have children due to concerns about climate change, according to a new survey.

Many Australians are extremely concerned about climate change, with 40% of those surveyed believing the weather will be “much hotter” by 2050, the Guardian reports.

The data was taken from a survey of 2,000 Australians on the impact of global warming.

“Compared to men, women expect hotter weather, feel more worried and more uncertain about climate change,” said Professor Clive Hamilton of Charles Sturt University, who represented the survey team.

Notably, 40.4% of women who have not had children said they are quite or very hesitant about having children due to concerns about climate change, while the rate among men is only 17%.

40.4% of women said they were hesitant to have children due to concerns about climate change, while only 17% of men agreed with this view. (Photo: Getty Images)

Mr Hamilton warns growing concern about climate change could lead to a decline in Australia's birth rate. “There seems to be a huge gap between young people’s concerns and government policy discussions on climate change ,” he said. “ This survey shows that this is an issue that cannot be ignored.”

These findings are similar to the results of a 2019 Australian Conservation Foundation survey, which found that about 33% of Australian women under 30 are reconsidering having children due to concerns about “an unsafe future due to climate change”.

The survey also included people living in areas affected by floods and bushfires since 2019. But the results showed that the impact of extreme weather events on climate change concerns was negligible.

Professor Iain Walker, a social psychologist at the University of Melbourne, said the results were consistent with many studies at home and abroad. He explained: “Those who believe in human-caused climate change will see natural disasters like floods and droughts as evidence of this change. Conversely, those who do not believe will have other explanations for extreme weather events.”

Although the survey areas were outside major cities, the survey found that people in urban areas had higher levels of concern about the climate crisis than those in rural and remote areas.

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