The OECD Environmental Outlook to 2050 asks “What could the next four decades bring?” Based on joint modelling by the OECD and the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, it looks forward to the year 2050 to ascertain what demographic and economic trends might mean for the environment if humanity does not introduce more ambitious policies to manage natural assets with greater care. It then examines some of the policies that could change that picture for the better. Can the planet’s resource base support everincreasing demands for energy, food, water and other natural resources, and at the same
time absorb our waste streams? Or will the growth process undermine itself? How can we balance environmental, economic and social objectives? How can we care for the environment and improve livelihoods and living conditions for the poor?