Publications

Food systems are a major contributor to exceeding planetary boundaries and poor quality diets are a key mortality risk globally. Projected population and income growth could exacerbate these…

Intensified environmental policies can make the world healthier, reduce poverty, and provide long term economic growth. This is a key conclusions from the 7th Global Environmental Outlook, a…

The seventh edition of the Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-7), the flagship publication of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), provides a comprehensive assessment of the state and…

Maps are powerful tools to communicate and discuss the content of spatial scenarios with policymakers, planners and the public. Scenario projects become more accessible when visually presented by maps…

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…

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…

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…

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…