Trends Identified

Net neutrality
The Federal Communications Commission voted in December to repeal net neutrality regulations put in place during the Obama administration. A Pew Research Center analysis of comments submitted online to the FCC about net neutrality found that during the four-month period (April 27 to Aug. 30, 2017) in which the FCC accepted comments on net neutrality, an average of 172,246 posts were submitted per day.
2017
Key trends shaping technology in 2017
Pew Research Center
Negative/disruptive impact of intelligent automation/digital labor
14% of the respondents view this as a negative trend.
2019
4Q 2018 KPMG Global Insights Pulse Survey Report
KPMG
Negative/disruptive impact of intelligent automation/digital labor
17% of the respondents view this as a negative trend
2017
Adoption of intelligent automation does not equal success. 4Q 2017 KPMG Global Insights Pulse Survey Report.
KPMG
Navigating complexity to exceed expectations
Technological progress, shifting demographics, urban expansion, the rise of emerging markets and a changing planet are moving the world beyond globalisation to a multi-polar reality. As this happens CEOs are learning that much of their success depends on sensing and addressing the rapidly changing values and expectations of their many stakeholders.
2016
19th Annual global CEO survey
PWC
Nature: 'We'll redefine the wild'
We all want to live in a world where species such as tigers, the great whales, orchids and coral reefs can persist and thrive and I am sure that the commitment that people have to maintaining the spectacle and diversity of life will continue. Over the past 50 years or so, there has been growing support for nature conservation. When we understand the causes of species losses, good conservation actions can and do reverse the trends. But it is going to become much harder. The human population has roughly doubled since the 1960s and will increase by another third by 2030. Demands for food, water and energy will increase, inevitably in competition with other species. People already use up to 40% of the world's primary production (energy) and this must increase, with important consequences for nature. In the UK, some familiar species will become scarcer as our rare habitats (mires, bogs and moorlands) are lost. We will be seeing the effects from gradual warming that will allow more continental species to live here, and in our towns and cities we'll probably have more species that have become adapted to living alongside people. We can conserve species when we really try, so I'm confident that the charismatic mega fauna and flora will mostly still persist in 2035, but they will be increasingly restricted to highly managed and protected areas. The survivors will be those that cope well with people and those we care about enough to save. Increasingly, we won't be living as a part of nature but alongside it, and we'll have redefined what we mean by the wild and wilderness. Crucially, we are still rapidly losing overall biodiversity, including soil microorganisms, plankton in the oceans, pollinators and the remaining tropical and temperate forests. These underpin productive soils, clean water, climate regulation and disease-resistance. We take these vital services from biodiversity and ecosystems for granted, treat them recklessly and don't include them in any kind of national accounting.
2011
20 predictions for the next 25 years
The Guardian
Natural-resource scarcity
Natural-resource scarcity affecting water, food supplies, energy, and minerals. Also changes in demand and technological innovations.
2016
Why and how latin america should think about the future
theDialogue
Natural-resource management
Executives' concerns about the impact that increasing constraints on the supply or usage of natural resources will have on their companies' profits appear to be subsiding despite the prominence of these issues in the public debate today. Twenty-five percent of respondents now expect this trend to have a negative effect on their company's profits, down from 28 percent in last year's survey and 33 percent two years ago.
2010
Five forces reshaping the global economy: McKinsey Global Survey results
McKinsey
Natural resources and energy
A growing population coupled with economic growth will place considerable burdens on natural resources. Severe water stress is likely in many parts of the world, while food insecurity will persist in many, predominantly poor, regions. Energy consumption will also rise sharply, contributing to further climate change. Global biodiversity will come under increasing threat, especially in densely populated poorer countries.
2016
OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Outlook 2016
OECD
Natural Resources
Mineral discoveries and growing demand will change mining and sustainability will challenge renewables
2011
Africa in 50 Years’ Time
African Development Bank
Natural resource scarcity
Demographic pressures create food and water insecurity, and supplies of non-renewable natural resources including fossil fuels are depleting. Scarcity could push prices up, creating further hardship for those most in need. Notwithstanding the current low oil price, from 2000 to 2013 metal prices rose by 176%, energy prices by an average of 260% and food prices by 120%. Depending on political responses, this may drive humanitarian crises, population movements and a rise in protectionist or nationalist policies.
2015
Tomorrow’s world: seven development megatrends challenging NGOs
The Guardian