ADB Brief 20: A Safe Space for Humanity: The Nexus of Food, Water, Energy and Climate

The 20th Century saw major human triggered transitions that cumulatively are threatening the safety of the habitat for humans on planet earth. Population, resources, and the rapid accumulation of wealth all are intertwined in the 5 major transitions from the past to our new global future. These major transitions are: first, the “urban population transition;” second, the“ nutrition transition;” third, the “climate transition;” fourth, the “energy transition;” and, fifth, the “agricultural transition.” This policy brief focuses on the most salient problems arising from these global transitions that can be ameliorated by specific policy instruments in the short term.