Trends Identified
The next generation distributed grid
Making distributed energy possible at scale will revolutionise the useability of (and market for) renewables, increase energy efficiency, and disrupt traditional carbon intensive power grids.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
Electrification of the transport system
Electrification of short-haul transportation enabled by advanced battery breakthroughs for inexpensive, quick charging energy dense batteries could disrupt the market for carbon intensive internal combustion engines and make zero-emissions EVs cost and performance competitive.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
A smart and automated road transport grid
Widespread adoption of connected and smart autonomous vehicles deliver substantial energy use savings, but is only a transformational sustainable transport solution if the autonomous cars are themselves low, or even better, zero-emissions vehicles.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
Smart and transparent land use management
Transparency of real-time land use practices enabled by 4IR technologies including IoT sensors, cloud and big data, drones and advanced satellites, will be a game changer for implementing climate smart land use practices, and driving accountability in agriculture and forestry value chains.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
Technology enabled urban planning and design
Designing IoT enabled cities with intelligent infrastructure and grids, and shared operations, can increase energy efficiency, and reduce GHG emissions and waste at the building, transport system, and municipal level.
2017
Innovation for the Earth - Harnessing technological breakthroughs for people and the planet
PWC
Financial Markets and New Economics
We are on the cusp of a new industrial revolution; one that addresses the triple challenge of global economic recovery, energy security and climate change. We stand, perhaps somewhat portentously, at a turning point in the history of humanity. What is missing, however, is an economic vision or financial game plan that can bring the myriad issues and foremost priorities together with the common goal of creating a new political economy and monetary infrastructure fit for the 21st century.
2011
Just imagine - RICS strategic foresight 2030
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Global Governance and Economic Disparity
The great 21st century paradox is that as the world grows together, it also grows apart. Improved global governance is advanced to meet the challenge of increasing economic disparity. But this, in turn, leads to a further paradox: the conditions that make improved global governance so crucial – divergent interests, conflicting incentives and differing norms and values – are also the ones that make its realisation so difficult, complex and messy.
2011
Just imagine - RICS strategic foresight 2030
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Planetary Stewardship in an Age of Scarcity
We are experiencing a confluence of powerful trends. Huge, extraordinary, universal trends, any one of which could impact upon our present way of life are coming together. The scale is planetary; the scope is centuries; the stakes are civilisation; and the speed headlong. At times the problems seem intractable, and all tax the capacity and competency of bureaucracies to tackle them. There is the interplay of three potent forces – growing demand, constrained supply and increased regulation. As one participant put it: “We are like the sorcerer’s apprentice – having started something we can no longer control”. Nevertheless, understanding an organisation’s full exposure to resource risk, especially energy and the environment, will be a defining factor determining long‐term viability.
2011
Just imagine - RICS strategic foresight 2030
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Creative Cities with Connected Communities
City building has become the ultimate expression of mankind’s ingenuity. The 21st century, moreover, is set to be the century of cities, for cities are moving centrestage, with both the commercial and cultural world increasingly being characterised by cities rather than by countries. Though the world’s cities differ significantly, they should all espouse one particular key ambition – to pursue a path of sustainable urban development – enhancing their quality of life and economic competitiveness while reducing both social exclusion and environmental degradation.
2011
Just imagine - RICS strategic foresight 2030
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)
Productivity, Partnership and People
Sometimes the world seems to be upside‐down, inside‐out, counter‐intuitive and confusing. Who would have imagined, a decade ago, a freely available service such as Google having such a profound impact on almost everything; social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn potentially connecting everyone; distributors in the mould of Amazon selling everywhere; sites such as eBay selling almost anything; financial intermediaries like PayPal setting‐up all over; or sources such as Wikipedia expanding our knowledge for ever and evermore. Customers increasingly are in charge. The mass market is dead. Middlemen are doomed. The niche is nice. Clients collaborate. Interactive communities open‐source and invent. We have shifted from scarcity to abundance. Openness, not ownership, is the key to success. It is all a never‐ending conversation.
2011
Just imagine - RICS strategic foresight 2030
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)