Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future

The report assesses the 50-year legacy of the 1972 Stockholm Conference, concluding that while scientific knowledge and goals have increased, an 'action gap' persists, with only about one-tenth of global environmental targets achieved. It argues that the world faces entwined planetary and human crises, where the richest 10% of the population emitted more than half of total carbon emissions from 1990-2015, while the poorest suffer the most. To unlock a better future, the authors propose three systemic shifts: redefining the human-nature relationship from extraction to care, rethinking prosperity beyond GDP to ensure it lasts for all, and redirecting financial flows toward sustainable innovation. The report emphasizes the need to move from 'technology transfer' to 'technology co-development' and to implement 'Rights of Nature' and biophilic urban design. It also calls for improving conditions for change by tackling policy incoherence, renewing multilateralism to manage chronic risks, and establishing a culture of accountable promises for both state and non-state actors.

• There is a significant 'action gap' in global environmental governance; since 1972, only approximately 10% of the hundreds of global environment and sustainable development targets agreed upon by countries have been achieved or seen significant progress.
• Global resource use has more than tripled since 1970, and this use is highly unequal; the richest 10% of the global population owned 76% of all wealth, while the poorest half owned barely 2%.
• Carbon emissions are heavily skewed toward high-income groups; the richest 10% of the global population were responsible for more than half of total carbon emissions between 1990 and 2015.
• The report identifies a need to shift the human-nature relationship from one of extraction to one of care, suggesting the integration of nature into cities through biophilic design and the recognition of the 'Rights of Nature' as a legal instrument.
• To ensure lasting prosperity, the report argues for a shift from purchasing products to purchasing functions (Product-Service Systems), which could reduce material throughput and benefit low-income countries through remanufacturing.
• The report advocates for moving beyond GDP as the primary metric of national success, suggesting the adoption of indicators for inclusive wealth and the caring economy to better align national statistics with sustainability goals.
• There is a paradox in sustainable finance where massive capital is available for sustainability investments, yet funding gaps persist in low-income countries; the global SDG funding gap was estimated at USD 2.5 trillion prior to the pandemic.
• The report proposes replacing the traditional 'technology transfer' model with a 'technology co-development' paradigm, involving co-ownership of intellectual property and pooled resources to bridge the gap between rich and poor countries.
• Policy incoherence is a major structural barrier, exemplified by environmentally harmful subsidies that amount to at least USD 1.8 trillion annually, or about 2% of global GDP.
• The report calls for a 'culture of accountable promises' to address the lack of tracking for multi-stakeholder pledges, suggesting the creation of a UN Climate Accountability Summit.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2022). Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/stockholm50-unlocking-a-better-future-10.51414-sei2022.011.pdf

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future. 2022. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/stockholm50-unlocking-a-better-future-10.51414-sei2022.011.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/stockholm50-unlocking-a-better-future-10.51414-sei2022.011.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2022stockholm50, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Stockholm+50: Unlocking a Better Future}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/stockholm50-unlocking-a-better-future-10.51414-sei2022.011.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }