God not the energy thing again. Just no. These two variables are not linked. Pollution is linked to polluting energy sources which remain polluting energy sources regardless of how many people there are.

If you want to fix the problem with polluting energy sources, then you fix polluting energy sources. There is precisely nothing about population which is relevant to energy policy in the current environment. The places of the world with the largest population growth are not at all defined by having aggressive infrastructure projects.

Surely the moral thing to do is develop non-polluting energy sources before bringing more people into the world? Fix the problem ourselves and not make it our kids' problem?

it's nice that in the ideal world in your head, these things aren't linked. maybe someday, that will be the real world, and then I'll be interested in it.

Which problem seems easier to solve? Preventing people from having children (but still relying entirely on coal powered energy, and requiring progressively more of it as various parts of the world develop and demand more energy for various reasons), or implementing the technological solutions - which we have today to allow us to acquire unlimited amounts of energy from non-CO2 and other types of pollution emitting sources?

Bearing in mind that, again, the largest energy consumers in the world - western nations - are all well into having low or negative population growth within their own borders.