Raw materials critical for energy, defence and digital technologies are largely extracted in low- and middle income countries, where mining is often linked to adverse social impacts. This study…
In 2024 PBL started a new research program on the role of government in societal transformations to sustainability. A key role in such transformations is played by visions and processes of visioning…
Water-related conflict and migration: Risks and ambition pathways
This background report concerns water-related conflict and water-related migration. The results are published in Geography of future water challenges – Bending the trend. This report gives an overview…
Policy mixes for sustainable development pathways: representation in integrated assessment models
The Paris Agreement on climate change and the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development require unprecedented transformations to sustainability, while maximising synergies and minimising trade-offs…
Just transitions: Conceptual tools for policy reflection
The need to balance environmental and social objectives is increasingly included in sustainability agendas at all levels – from local to global. This has given rise to the concept of a 'just…
Human development is fundamentally dependent on the state of the environment. ‘Planetary boundaries’ define a set of limits with regard to the environmental conditions on the planet within which human…
Limited consumer willingness diminishes the potential environmental gains of dietary change
A collaborative study between researchers from the Institute of Environmental Science of Leiden University (CML) and the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL) sought to understand how…
A review of existing model-based scenarios achieving SDGs: progress and challenges
Quantitative goal-seeking scenario studies could help to explore the needed systems' transformations to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development by identifying enabling conditions and…
Circular consumption to reduce environmental pressure
The European Union and various individual countries strive for a more circular economy to reduce environmental pressure. The transition towards a circular economy requires a change in what and how we…
Policy Summary of The Geography of Future Water Challenges - Bending the Trend
Water is a critical resource, but our freshwater resources and water systems are under heavy pressure and hundreds of millions of people are at risk of having too little, too polluted, or too much…
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency
