An odd moment of reflection to think we are now closer to 2050 than 2000 on July 2nd 2025 as of 12pm today as the time of writing.

The year 2000 held plenty of big life events for me. Linkin Park, starting secondary school, Diablo 2, X-Men the movie, the Millennium edition of the Guinness book of records,, dial up internet, ,the millennium dome. Ok, maybe not that last one. But I remember thinking in awe of what a momentous time it was, a bright future ahead. The gift of being young with few worries to hold perhaps.

2050 has been in my mind like a lot of my fellow sustainability professionals. It’s the point in which many sustainability ambitions align to. Net Zero by 2050, limiting warming by 1.5C. Achieving 100% renewable generation. Protect 30% of Land and Ocean by 2030 (“30x30”) and maintain through 2050.

If I were to ask you the question ‘will the world be a better place in 2050 than it is today?’ I’m sure your answer would be a skeptical one, skewing towards no. If I asked you that same question in 2000, I’m sure we see those that were quietly optimistic.

Back then, we viewed technological progress as something truly positive. The still early web, mobile phones, music players. Climate change was something far off and something which scientists and documentary makers were hinting towards. The Cold War has come to a conclusion with no major conflicts on the horizon. Cool Britannia was still riding high, Oasis were still together.

Now, technology is something which saps our attention, used to surveil and control and with AI about to replace our jobs. Climate change is here with a heat dome sitting over Europe, clear for all to see as no longer theoretical. The world seems at the precipice of stumbling into another world conflict. We may no longer have Cool Britannia, but perhaps after when Oasis break up again they’ll be back for one final retirement top up in 2050.

But life is not black and white. We all have a veneer of nostalgia when looking to the past. And most will likely hold a cautious optimism towards the future. But the challenges we have now are acute, pressing and urgent.

My true hope is that we end up closer to a shared utopia in 2050, not further away from one. One where we are in harmony and balance in nature, that technology serves us rather than enslaves or displaces and that there is a place on this planet for everyone to thrive. This won’t happen by accident. We must all do our part as engaged global citizens to bring forth the future we want.