Climate change and reproductive intentions in Europe

It is widely recognized that climate change is anthropogenic and that a continuous worsening of environmental conditions has strong impacts on populations’ and individuals’ well-being. Besides the direct negative effect on mortality and morbidity climate change threats traditional livelihoods. Loss of livelihood may encourage out-migration and may constitute an obstacle for having children. Aim of this paper is to investigate the effects of environmental conditions on human reproductive behavior in the highest industrialized countries. We discuss the hypothesis that individuals fearing for a foreseen unhealthy environment tend to delay childbearing or give up having children, thus contributing to a reduced ecological footprint. These effects could result in further fertility reduction or limited recovery in the years to come.