‘Dangerous’ Population Lie Exposed: How Billionaires are Dupeing Us into Blaming the Wrong People for Climate Crisis
- A journalist has slammed the ‘overpopulation myth’ as a dangerous lie designed to protect billionaires and punish everyday people.
- The richest 1 per cent of the global population are responsible for as much carbon pollution as two-thirds of everyone else combined, a 2023 Oxfam report found.
- The ultra-elite 0.1 per cent of people are behind about 8 per cent of global heating since 1990, while the poorest half of the planet accounts for less than 10 per cent of total global emissions.
Journo Louisa Schneider has taken to TikTok to call out one of the most persistent climate myths of our time – that the planet is frying because there are simply too many people.
‘They want us to believe that the climate crisis is caused by “overpopulation,”‘ Schneider said in her video, which has now amassed over 4 million views. ‘But we have enough resources for everyone! This isn’t a population crisis. It’s a distribution crisis.’
According to Schneider, the real problem isn’t how many people exist – it’s how a small fraction of them are hoarding and burning through the planet’s resources. And she’s not alone in her assessment.
Data scientist Hannah Ritchie from Our World in Data says the world’s population growth rate hit its high point in 1963 and has been declining ever since. Fertility rates are now falling so fast in many countries that some governments are scrambling to boost birthrates, not lower them.
In a stark warning, Schneider pointed to a 2023 Oxfam report which found the richest 1 per cent of the world’s population were responsible for as much carbon pollution in 2019 as two-thirds of everyone else combined.
‘The super-rich “burned through their share of the global carbon budget” within the first 10 days of the year,’ Oxfam declared bluntly.
Meanwhile, the poorest half of the planet accounts for less than 10 per cent of total global emissions. It’s a narrative that Schneider warns has been used to justify racist and unfair policies throughout history – from forced sterilisation and limiting reproductive rights to blaming poorer countries for problems they didn’t create.
‘It’s a narrative that protects the rich and punishes the poor,’ she said. ‘It distracts us from holding billionaires and corporations accountable.’
And that’s exactly why experts agree it’s so harmful. Blaming the masses for the actions of a tiny elite lets those most responsible for the crisis continue unchecked – while shifting guilt onto everyday people just trying to live their lives.
‘We’ve been told the myth that we’re just too many. Too many people. Not enough food. Not enough homes. Not enough resources,’ Schneider captioned her video. ‘But the truth? We produce enough food for 10 billion. There are more empty homes than unhoused people. Our wardrobes could clothe 7 generations. The richest 20 per cent consume 80 per cent of global resources.’
Schneider’s followers were quick to agree, with one commenting, ‘It is indeed the overpopulation… of billionaires.’ And the numbers are staggering – there are now more billionaires in the world than ever before, with 3,028 individuals holding a total net worth of about $A25 trillion as of early 2025.
Schneider’s takeaway? The Earth doesn’t have a people problem – it has a power problem. And it’s time we started holding the right people accountable.