2022 was a year of great upheaval and change, with a series of political and economic crises that will reverberate for many years to come. Looking back to the year, our team of futurists highlight five trends that shaped the trajectory of 2022 and will continue to shape the future.

Population growth rates are stagnating in many countries around the world, but the economics of a declining population is still uncharted territory for modern economic theory. How will our growth-based economic systems fare when the population declines?

It may seem like there’s more technological innovation than ever today, but more innovation doesn’t necessarily mean more economic growth.

Through a series of workshops with three national tax authorities, we explored the key opportunities and risks the metaverse presents to the future of taxation.

With the steep rise in volumes of counterfeit consumer goods entering the global marketplace, brands, retailers, and governments are facing new challenges.

The war in Ukraine has brought major disruption and new uncertainties to several sectors. To help organisations successfully navigate the constantly evolving environment ahead, Futures Platform’s team of futurists has outlined four different scenarios on how the war may evolve within the next five years.

Europe spent years negotiating, innovating and planning to solve its net-zero energy policy puzzle by 2050. Will Russia’s war on Ukraine reshape the future of energy in the continent?

Will artificial intelligence bring an end to the traditional labour market? Fears of mass technological unemployment have a powerful impact on economical policies, but modern economic theory suggests that these fears might be misplaced.

As the cost of traditional building materials rise, the construction industry may learn that going green is shifting from being too expensive to do, to too expensive not to do.

Poor institutional performance, slow response to the global agenda, and increasing economic inequalities are among the main drivers causing a global decline in trust in public authorities and political leaders.

In this interview, our Content Director and head of the futurist team, Dr. Tuomo Kuosa, tells about the process of analysing the global impacts of the Ukraine war. He also discusses which one has a more profound impact, the war or the Covid-19 pandemic, and explains the difference between forecasting and foresight.

The electric vehicle revolution has some battles it must win: improve mileage and increase production in the face of limited, difficult-to-acquire rare-earth elements used in current battery technology. How is the industry routing through and around these obstacles?