Innovations for Sustainability Pathways to an efficient and sufficient post-pandemic future

This report, which focuses on innovation, is the third by The World in 2050 (TWI2050) initiative that was established by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and other partners to provide scientific foundations for the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In 2018, the first report by TWI2050 on Transformations to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals identified Six Exemplary Transformations needed to achieve the SDGs and long-term sustainability to 2050 and beyond: i) Human capacity, demography and health; ii) Consumption and production; iii) Decarbonization and energy, iv) Food, biosphere and water; v) Smart cities; and vi) Digital Revolution. The focus of the second report, The Digital Revolution and Sustainable Development: Opportunities and Challenges, launched in 2019, was the Sixth Transformation. This third report, Innovations for Sustainability: Pathways to an efficient and sufficient post-pandemic future, assesses all the positive potential benefits innovation brings to sustainable development for all, while also highlighting the potential negative impacts and challenges going forward. The report outlines strategies to harness innovation for sustainability by focusing on efficiency and sufficiency in providing services to people, with a particular focus on consumption and production. It concludes with the related governance challenges and policy implications.