Navigating the Future
Four scenarios assessing child well-being in the twenty-first century
Highlights
As we move through the twenty-first century, humanity faces a complex array of challenges. These mutually reinforcing issues include climate change and geopolitical instability, as well as persistent socioeconomic disparities that have profound implications for children’s well-being. At such a critical crossroads, policy choices we make today will determine the welfare of future generations.
To further our understanding of how these challenges impact human development over time, this study presents four quantified scenarios of the long-term future. These scenarios model the implications on development, climate change and geopolitics of varying levels of technological advancement, resource utilization, and economic and geopolitical cooperation.
Here we take a journey through these four transitional pathways, with each scenario reflecting unique challenges and opportunities. The objective of this study is to present policymakers and stakeholders with an anticipatory framework for understanding future development pathways.
