The biggest threat to humanity isn’t climate change, the next pandemic, or a nuclear apocalypse but rather a lack of babies.

That’s according to author and demographer Paul Morland. The fertility rate in Ireland is now 1.5, which is well below the replacement level fertility rate of 2.1 babies per couple.

He told Claire Byrne on RTE Radio 1 that global birth rates are plummeting so much there soon won’t be enough young people to take care of the aging population.

Referencing his new book “No One Left: Why the World Needs More Children” he laid out his case for pro-natalism: that a healthy society has a reasonable number of children where people are having babies by choice—not because they cannot control their fertility.

He denied it is a “right-wing” concern, citing numerous left-wing thinkers and centrist politicians who share it. Regardless of politics or ideology, he said, “people matter”.

Fears of a ‘population bomb’ are “fifty years out of date”, with even quite poor countries such as Jamaica and Thailand now also not having enough children to replace themselves.

He said societies need to move forward to the 2030s not back to the 1950s to give couples the support they need to have more children.

But, he added, policy changes alone won’t cut it – cultural change is necessary as well.