UAE Government, UN75 launch ‘Future Possibilities Report 2020’

The UAE Government and the United Nations Initiative to commemorate its 75th anniversary launched the “Future Possibilities Report 2020”, presenting six transformational trends that can add up to $30 trillion to the global economy by 2025.

The report, commissioned by the UAE, was launched during a global dialogue on “Opportunities for the Future We Want”, co-hosted by UAE Government and the”UN75: 2020 and Beyond” Initiative.

Led by Ohood Bint Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Government Development and The Future and Fabrizio Hochschild, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on UN75, and moderated by Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, the dialogue focused on global approaches to strengthening future-readiness. This event is part of the UN75 Initiative ahead of the UN General Assembly’s annual meeting in September, which will commemorate the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations.

The meeting also hosted ministers, ambassadors, and officials from over 100 governments worldwide, in addition to more than 130 international experts.

In her remarks, Al Roumi noted, “The UAE is committed to enhancing global partnerships to shape future development and promote governments’ readiness in cooperation with the United Nations. This embodies the vision of the UAE’s leadership to be proactive and innovate business models across various sectors to better anticipate future risks and secure a more resilient and prosperous future for coming generations.”

She added, “The report marks a major step towards fostering global dialogue as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to push the international community to accelerate adaptable policies and programmes in various sectors.”

Hochschild said, “The UAE is a country that thinks more of the future than many others. We are pleased to partner with the UAE in launching this report which identifies key opportunities for the global community to enhance solidarity and collaboration to accelerate Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, as we shape our future.” Maria del Pilar Garrido Gonzalo, Minister of National Planning and Economic Policy of Costa Rica, said, “We are designing a long-term plan based on Territory 2050 as the main tool to achieve an inclusive and carbon-free economy by 2050. UAE Government has been one of the most important allies for us, thus, we have initiated our Memorandum of Understanding in strategic foresight.”

Speaking on behalf of the 28 Member States of the EU, Olof Skoog, Permanent Observer of the EU to the UN, said, “The report helps policy-makers make the right, innovative choices, reports like this one are indispensable. We must make sure we leave no one behind while continuing to innovate and transform so that the promise of the transformation of the 2030 Agenda can become true for all.”

Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh added, “This report helps us interpret the seismic shifts that the world is undergoing today, translates them into six structural trends, and provides concrete entry points for governments and international organisations to leverage going forward.”

The third discussion hosted a diverse and renowned advisory panel to explore the outcomes of the report, including Bruno Lanvin, Executive Director for Global Indices at INSEAD who said, “The Future is Young...it belongs to youth.. and it will be determined by the actions we take today to shape the future...we need to anticipate where the world will be six months from now and use foresight tools”.

Chantal Line Carpentier, Chief of the UN Conference on Trade and Development in New York, said, “Future Possibilities Report highlights core capacities that governments will need to transform their economies, taking advantage of key ongoing trends.” Permanent Representatives of Egypt and China to the UN also participated in the interactive segment.

The six future transformational trends that define the features of a pioneering development in “Future Possibilities Report 2020”, is available now on the UN website.Exabyte Economy

The first trend focuses on development possibilities, namely “Exabyte Economy (Big Data): Hyperconnected Devices, Data and People”, with an estimated total economic value of up to $8 trillion by 2025. The second trend focuses on “Circular Economy: Waste not, want not”, as increasing public awareness to reduce the impact on the environment will continue to open new possibilities across value chains based on optimising usage of resources and reducing waste. This will open new market possibilities totalling up to $4.5 trillion. The third trend “Wellbeing Economy: More than Health” presents future possibilities emerging from increasing interest in physical and mental wellbeing by adopting new approaches at all levels. The combined value could reach $7 trillion within a few years. The fourth trend examines societies’ interest in providing personalised experience services tailored to the needs of customers within “Experience Economy: From Ownership to Usership”. New trends could build an experience-driven economy worth up to $6.5 trillion by 2025.

The fifth trend “Net Zero Economy: Scalable Low-carbon Solutions”, explores the general increase in energy demand and global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. According to the report, it is expected that the growing demand for renewable energy could yield over $2.3 trillion of possibilities by 2025.

The sixth trend “BioGrowth Economy: New Agriculture and BIOmaterials”, promotes new possibilities for various sectors worldwide relating to agriculture and emerging biological materials that could be worth over $1 trillion by 2025.

WAM