Table of Contents
Foreword: HRH The Prince of Wales 08
Introduction 10
1 Drivers of change
The Population Explosion 16
Population shift 18
Living longer 20
Slowing the rise 22
Economic Expansion 24
What is GDP? 26
Richer people 28
Companies vs nations 30
Global power shift 32
Trading benefits 34
World debt 36
City Planet 38
Rise of megacities 40
Urban pressures 42
Fuel for Growth 44
Surge in demand 46
Energy-hungry world 48
Carbon footprint 50
Renewable revolution 52
How solar energy works 54
Wind power 56
Tidal and wave energy 58
Energy conundrum 60
Escalating Appetite 62
Farmed planet 64
Fertilizer boom 66
Pest control challenge 68
How food is wasted 70
Feeding the World 72
Threats to food supply 74
Thirsty World 76
Freshwater scarcity 78
The water cycle 80
Water footprint 82
Consuming Passions 84
Rise of consumerism 86
Wasteful world 88
Where does it all go? 90
Chemical cocktail 92
2 Consequences of change
The Global Age 96
Mobile technology 98
Taking to the skies 100
Better Lives For Many 102
Clean water and sanitation 104
Reading and writing 106
Healthier world 108
Unequal world 110
Corruption 112
The rise of terrorism 114
Displaced people 116
Our Changing Atmosphere 118
The greenhouse effect 120
Hole in the sky 122
A warmer world 124
Seasons out of sync 126
How climate patterns work 128
Extreme world 130
The two-degree limit 132
Feedback loops 134
How much can we burn? 136
The carbon crossroads 138
The carbon cycle 140
Targets for the future 142
Toxic air 144
Acid rain 146
Changing the Land 148
Forest clearance 150
Desertification 152
Land rush 154
Sea Changes 156
Farming fish 158
Acid seas 160
Dead seas 162
Plastic pollution 164
The Great Decline 166
Biodiversity hotspots 168
Invasive species 170
Nature's services 172
Insect pollination 174
The value of nature 176
3 Bending the curves
The Great Acceleration 180
Planetary boundaries 182
Interconnected pressures 184
What's the Global Plan? 186
What is working? 188
Nature's spaces 190
New global goals 192
Shaping the Future 194
Low carbon growth 196
The rise of clean technology 198
A sustainable economy 200
Circular economy 202
A new mindset 204
Restoring the future 206
Glossary 208
Index 214
References and acknowledgments 220
