'This world cannot continue to function the way it is if we wish to live out the next hundred years. Not only do both government and the individual’s perspectives on the environment need to change, but also the way we relate to each other.'
Camilla van Klinken, 18, Netherlands

Hard times ahead

The good news is that 84% of our future leaders think it likely, or very likely, that human civilisation will last another century. But things will be very different.

Imagine that it’s 2032 and we’re living in the world that our survey group has predicted for us. It’s not a comfortable place to be.

The Amazon rainforest has disappeared, oil is prohibitively
expensive and we are beset by ever more frequent natural
disasters. The world is riven by wars old and new, the Israel- Palestine conflict continues and we’re reeling from the use of nuclear weapons. Inequality has increased, both within the UK and globally. And despite the worst effects of climate change, there is still no binding international CO2 emissions reduction treaty.

A bleak picture, but this is seen as the most likely outcome according to half or more respondents in the 2007/08 survey. They’re convinced, in the main, that lifestyles will have to change significantly if we are to survive, with only 17% seeing us set to continue on a similar path and nearly a quarter believing we will
have to change radically. A startling 86% believe that material consumption needs to decrease.

Some expect a more religious world: more than a third expect formal religious practice to have increased. Nearly a quarter don’t expect to be living in the UK, and – despite its links with climate change – two-thirds expect air travel to still be available to the majority.

Getting better all the time?

The future predicted by this year’s respondents is slightly less dismal than that foreseen in 2006/07. This year 85% of respondents believe that climate change will be affecting their lives, down from 91% in 2006/07. They’re also a bit less gloomy about the inequality between rich and poor nations, with 75% of 2007/08 respondents predicting it will increase, compared to 80% in 2006/07.

Increasing inequality is also anticipated to occur in the UK. However, 58% of respondents still think that overall, quality of life in the UK will have increased by 2032, compared with 50% in last year’s survey.