Letter: Time for COP to address the global migration crisis

First South Korea, now Japan is worrying about a falling birth rate (Report, FT Weekend, April 13).

Surely a declining population is not only no reason to panic (Letters, FT Weekend, April 13) but should be encouraged and planned for by governments around the world.

Human beings are the fundamental cause of climate change. In my lifetime, the number of people has more than trebled (from 2.5bn to close to 8bn) while the annual rate of CO₂ emissions has increased sevenfold (from 5bn to 35bn tonnes).

In the same period, there has been a massive increase in automation, reducing the need for labour, in particular in the richer countries, and
if some of the promoters of artificial intelligence are right, even the administrative and professional classes will soon become redundant.

Meanwhile, in poor countries the climate crisis is causing food shortages and increasing numbers of people are trying to survive by migrating.

Surely it is time for the COP to discuss population and migration on a global basis, and for governments to plan their numbers so as to help both rich and poor countries by sharing people, as well as other resources.

Giles Dixon
Chelwood Gate, East Sussex, UK