Reproductive Decision-Making in Times of Climate Change

Having children is often seen as the meaning of life. Many people wish to become a link between generations, past and present, and to pass on their heritage, through family-building. At the same time, we see that more and more young people in Sweden postpone or refrain from starting a family with children. This development seems to be partly related to increasing uncertainty in young people’s lives, caused by for example precarious labor and housing markets, war, pandemics and the climate crisis. International studies show that as many as 40–50% of young participants hesitate to have children because of climate change. Despite that, “sustainable reproduction” has not been much discussed in politics, especially not in Sweden.

The aim of the research project is to analyze how family-building is discussed in relation to global issues like climate change and sustainability, in the media and by civil society actors. Previously, we have studied how lay people discuss this topic (see article below), but in this project we focus on public debate and actors. Which values and beliefs around the individual, family, and nation are emphasized, and how are they discussed in relation to other important issues such as welfare, health, and human rights?