Dear Reader,

Welcome to the 10^th annual edition of The Sustainability Trends Report. The report has changed significantly in that decade, and so has the world around us. This report series was launched in the flush of enthusiasm that followed the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, adopted in late 2015. The period since has been marked by profound challenges, yet the spirit of Paris is alive. Citizens, governments and corporations continue to strive to meet the Paris goals, and they are getting a major boost — from the technology and economics of renewable energy, from clean cars and from better batteries.

In fact, the cost trends are so favourable that a long-sought goal now appears within reach. The idea that developing countries might jump past fossil fuels and go straight to clean energy is no longer a fantasy: this great ​‘leapfrog’ is starting to happen. As electric cars become more affordable, some countries are starting to ban the sale of petrol-burning models, determined to seize a greener future, and to liberate their citizens from the volatility of the oil market. Solar power is becoming so cheap in some parts of the world that it may become the basis of large manufacturing industries, giving sun-drenched tropical countries an advantage they never had before in the global competition for jobs. 

In this report, we will not minimise the difficulties of the moment. Politics has taken a dark turn across much of the democratic world, threatening more than just climate goals. Yet political leaders ultimately take their marching orders from citizens, and solving the climate crisis offers us the potential to replace the politics of fear and repression with one of hope and vision. 

We can see a better world just over the horizon, and we urge all readers of this report to raise their voices and help call it into existence.