title: Life-history theory and climate change: resolving population and parental investment paradoxes.
abstract: Population growth in the next half-century is on pace to raise global carbon emissions by half. Carbon emissions are associated with fertility as a by-product of somatic and parental investment, which is predicted to involve time orientation/preference as a mediating psychological mechanism. Here, we draw upon life-history theory (LHT) to investigate associations between future orientation and fertility, and their impacts on carbon emissions. We argue 'K-strategy' life history (LH) in high-income countries has resulted in parental investment behaviours involving future orientation that, paradoxically, promote unsustainable carbon emissions, thereby lowering the Earth'sKor carrying capacity. Increasing the rate of approach towards this capacity are 'r-strategy' LHs in low-income countries that promote population growth. We explore interactions between future orientation and development that might slow the rate of approach towards globalK. Examination of 67 000 individuals across 75 countries suggests that future orientation interacts with the relationship between environmental risk and fertility and with development related parental investment, particularly investment in higher education, to slow population growth and mitigateper capitacarbon emissions. Results emphasize that LHT will be an important tool in understanding the demographic and consumption patterns that drive anthropogenic climate change.
authors.affiliation: Paul G. Allen School for Global Animal Health , Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99164 , USA.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.identifier: 0000-0003-4456-3318
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caudell
authors.affiliation: Department of Anthropology , Washington State University , Pullman, WA 99164 , USA.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Quinlan
keywords: climate change; ecological psychology; environmental risk; life-history theory; sustainability