Since 1979 China has more or less followed a government enforced policy of one child per family. It is a policy which dictates that urban couples are allowed only one child, whereas those in the countryside may have two – so long as the first child is a girl. Ethnic minorities, those with dangerous jobs and couples who give birth to a disabled child are also exceptions.

Has China’s radical one child policy – enacted by then chairman of the communist party Deng Xiaoping – been a global disaster or boon? Zhao Baige, vice-minister of National Population and Family Planning Commission of China (NPFPC) and member of the Chinese delegation at the Copenhagen climate summit, claims that it has helped. From an article in China Daily:

As a result of the family planning policy, China has seen 400 million fewer births, which has resulted in 18 million fewer tons of CO2 emissions a year, Zhao said.

One result of this drastic law is that it has given China – and the world – 38 million more men than women. For every 100 girls born in China there are 120 male births.

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