Historical, Current, and Projected Drivers and Pressures of Environmental Change

A growing economy, increasing population and changing lifestyles are driving the demand for goods and services, such as materials, energy, and food. However, the current systems for producing and consuming these resources are unsustainable. They are shaped by poor governance structures and policies, particularly in the areas of economics and finance, as well as behaviours and technologies that promote land-use change, resource exploitation, greenhouse gas emissions, pollution, and the spread of invasive alien species. These pressures contribute to the interconnected global environmental crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and desertification and pollution and waste. Addressing these challenges and achieving internationally agreed goals requires a deep understanding of how these drivers interact and how to transform the economic and financial, material resources, energy and food systems to manage their environmental consequences effectively.