[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/","headline":"Sustainable living: The ethics of having one less child to save the planet","name":"Sustainable living: The ethics of having one less child to save the planet","description":"In the first of TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s three-part series on sustainable living, Singaporean youths discussed how they navigate the daily conundrums of battling climate change with little green steps.\u00a0 But what about taking one giant green step instead?\u00a0 In July 2017, a Guardian article proclaimed having one less child to be the single most effective way […]","datePublished":"2021-12-25","dateModified":"2022-04-14","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/rachel-teng\/#Person","name":"Rachel Teng","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/rachel-teng\/","identifier":367,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rachel_Teng-100x100.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/Rachel_Teng-100x100.jpg","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/WhatsApp-Image-2021-12-25-at-4.56.33-PM.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/WhatsApp-Image-2021-12-25-at-4.56.33-PM.jpeg","height":492,"width":1000},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/","commentCount":"2","comment":[{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/#Comment1","dateCreated":"2026-04-27 18:04:29","description":"I love the structure of your explanation.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"on cloud women's shoes","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/women\/on-cloud-women-shoes"}},{"@type":"Comment","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/#Comment2","dateCreated":"2026-04-25 12:35:44","description":"This deserves more attention.","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"Salomon speedcross 6 trail running shoes","url":"https:\/\/globalshoepalace.com\/product-category\/men\/Salomon-Men-Shoes"}}],"about":["Community","Environment","Local","Singapore"],"wordCount":1557,"keywords":["active retirement","carbon footprint","ethics","lifestyle","little green steps","policy","population","silver tsunami","Singapore","sustainable living","tan hang chong","tricia tan","winston chow"],"articleBody":"In the first of TheHomeGround Asia\u2019s three-part series on sustainable living, Singaporean youths discussed how they navigate the daily conundrums of battling climate change with little green steps.\u00a0But what about taking one giant green step instead?\u00a0In July 2017, a Guardian article proclaimed having one less child to be the single most effective way for people to reduce their personal carbon footprints.\u00a0Experts calculated that each child contributes 58.6 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) for a year of a parent\u2019s life. To put this in perspective, that is equivalent to abstaining from 36.6 roundtrip transatlantic flights a year, or 71 people turning to plant-based diet.\u00a0How much CO2 can be saved through different individual lifestyle changes. (Photo source: The Guardian, Wynes & Nicholas, Environmental Research Letters)Having a child is a deeply personal decision, and quantifying the value of a child’s life \u2014 or the experience of parenthood \u2014in terms of tonnes of carbon can be reductive and even offensive to many. Numbers aside, this movement is being driven by strong undercurrents of eco-anxiety and projected guilt for bringing a child into a world with a future so uncertain.\u00a0\u201cThere is a growing acknowledgement that the likely societal impacts of future climate disruption have been a factor in not having children,\u201d says Associate Professor Winston Chow from the Singapore Management University (SMU).\u00a0Some reasons for this include the ethical views of \u201cI don\u2019t think bringing in one more child to the world is a sound one\u201d, and the question \u201cis it fair to give my child such an uncertain future?\u201d, given the dwelling state of the planet, Professor Chow adds.\u00a0\u2018In an ideal world, we\u2019d still like to have kids\u2019The sentiment is gaining traction among young couples in Singapore, according to a Straits Times report.\u00a0Professor Chow says the ethical factor is on top of \u201cgrounded economic issues, such as economic cost of raising children elsewhere\u201d, among many others \u2014 as seen in this viral Reddit thread below.\u00a0A Reddit post titled \u2018What\u2019s the point of bringing a life into Singapore?\u2019, highlights the many reasons why young Singaporeans are increasingly deterred from having children. (Photo source: r\/singapore \/ Reddit)But contrary to popular belief, this group of youths do not merely constitute people who \u201cnever felt a calling to have [their own children], or do not \u201chave an intrinsic love for children\u201d, as the article highlights.\u00a0Ms Tricia Tan, 23, is just one such individual. She had always envisioned having a large family with many children since she was young. \u201cI like kids. I like seeing them grow, and seeing them learn,\u201d she says. \u201cI can understand why it\u2019s a very fulfilling thing to be a parent. It\u2019s a very unique experience.\u201d\u00a0Yet, in the course of pursuing a Bachelor\u2019s degree in Environmental Studies, Ms Tan\u2019s stance took a 180-degree turn.\u00a0\u201cAfter you learn more about the extent of environmental degradation, then having kids becomes a very complex issue,\u201d she says. \u201cIt isn\u2019t just about you anymore, it\u2019s about the kids and their feelings too.\u201d\u00a0\u201cThere\u2019s no promise that they\u2019ll be able to live a long, safe, and fulfilling life on Earth,\u201d she says, emphasising that no one can actually consent to being born. \u201cThere\u2019s a very real possibility that they don\u2019t get to see a lot of things that brought us joy, with oceans rising, animals going extinct, and forests being burned down. What kind of world would they have to grow up in?\u201d\u00a0Dr Matthew Schneider-Mayerson, an associate professor of environmental studies at Yale-NUS College, points out an additional reason why environmentalists in particular are choosing not to have children. \u201cRaising children takes up time, money, and energy that could otherwise be used for environmental politics and other actions,\u201d he says.\u00a0Generational differences in ideologies\u00a0Sociologist Paulin Straughan told The Straits Times that many young adults argue that they are marrying for intrinsic reasons. \u201cThe purpose of getting married is for self-fulfilment rather than extending your family or meeting your extended family\u2019s expectations,\u201d she says.\u00a0Within the cultural context of Asian families, however, the decision to have children traditionally involved grandparents and even extended family members. The advent of a new environmental consideration might, then, threaten the intergenerational social fabric.\u00a0Agreeing, Ms Tan points out that the older generation \u201chad a much better excuse than us [to not grasp the gravity of having children], because they honestly didn\u2019t know any better\u201d.\u00a0\u201cA great many inventions came out of the different revolutions over history to give us the high quality of life that we have today. So, it\u2019s understandable why they were caught up with other issues without thinking of the long term consequences of having children,\u201d she says.\u00a0Furthermore, environmental results are highly intangible and take decades to manifest. Newer generations grapple with eco-anxiety at a level often incomprehensible to their predecessors.\u00a0\u201cWe feel much more morally obliged because we can feel the direct impacts of climate change now,\u201d she adds.\u00a0Paradigm shift in policy required\u00a0With one of the lowest birth rates in the world among developing economies, some might say that Singapore, as a nation, may not have the luxury to put environmental concerns before economic ones.\u00a0Since the 1980s, the Singapore government has implemented a relentless string of pro-natal policies in a long-drawn and desperate attempt to counter the country\u2019s ageing population issues.\u00a0They have yet to comment on how climate-related antinatalism fits into the larger scheme of policymaking. Does having fewer children mean that our economy and healthcare infrastructures take a hit?\u00a0Environmental educator Tan Hang Chong believes that a paradigm shift in this aspect is both possible and necessary. \u201cTo challenge this paradigm, we need to challenge the assumption that as people get older, they become economically inactive or reliant on their children for support,\u201d he says.\u00a0According to him, a big part of the solution lies in promoting active retirement, so that people can be less reliant on their children. This counters the notion that one needs to have children to take care of them in old age in order to retire blissfully.\u00a0There should also be greater efforts in reskilling senior citizens so that people can remain economically active in the workforce if they want to, he says.\u00a0In anticipation of the Silver Tsunami \u2014 the influx of infrastructural issues related to an ageing population \u2014\u00a0Mr Tan also highlights the importance of preventive healthcare to counteract the inadvertent rise of chronic illnesses.\u00a0\u201cIt is great that people are actually living longer lives. But are they living longer quality lives?\u201d he asks.\u00a0Professor of Social Sciences (Environmental Studies) Michael Maniates from Yale-NUS College writes in his book, Consumption Corridors: Living a Good Life within Sustainable Limits, that rather than \u201cfrightening policymakers into action, […] limiting levels of consumption doesn\u2019t need to be a dreary dystopian thing\u201d.\u00a0\u201cIt can be exciting for us to think about reducing consumption in ways that lead to greater prosperity, peace, freedom, and opportunities to fully realise our humanity,\u201d he says.\u00a0Redefining parenthood\u00a0Mr Tan, 41, has also personally decided against having children, despite loving to educate the young . But he does not feel a sense of loss over not having his own biological child and believes he derives the same fulfilment from taking care of his three nieces. After all, it takes a village to raise a child.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019d like to think of myself as a pseudo-parent or co-parent. It can be just as fulfilling a family life because we have shared responsibilities,\u201d he says.\u201cWhat I\u2019m concerned with is not my own biological heritage, but my cultural legacy \u2014 to know that the work I\u2019ve done leaves an impact on future generations,\u201d he adds. \u201cTherefore, there is no need for me to distinguish whether or not a child is biologically my own.\u201d\u00a0He points out that fostering children from marginalised communities, adoption, and even opting instead to raise fur kids are options that young couples can, and are, increasingly considering.\u00a0Children can be, and still are, the hope for the futureMs Tan highlights the importance of not antagonising any one group of people for a decision so personal. Instead, she believes in taking a neutral stance and finding the common ground between opposing viewpoints.\u00a0\u201cI think something that both groups have in common is that they value the lives of children. By choosing to have less, we are doing the same thing, because too many children might result in each child having a slightly lower chance of being able to reach their full potential, because there\u2019s just not enough resources on this earth,\u201d she says.\u00a0Even so, there remains a strong group of voices, environmentalists included, who still pin their hopes on parenthood and children, as TheHomeGround Asia writer Chester Tan surmises in a recent opinion piece.\u00a0And that\u2019s completely justifiable too.\u00a0\u201cI found two climate-related reasons why environmentalists are choosing to have children: as a means of remaining personally invested in the future of the planet, and because of the hope or expectation that their children will become environmentalists,\u201d Dr Scneider-Mayerson explains in his article, The environmental politics of reproductive choices in the age of climate change.\u00a0Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Destinations","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Singapore","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/\/singapore\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Sustainable living: The ethics of having one less child to save the planet","item":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/sustainable-living-the-ethics-of-having-one-less-child-to-save-the-planet\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]