4.1 Global trends In an interdependent world, global trends are an integral part of Finland’s operating environment. While they entail risks and threats, being able to anticipate and utilise them and adapt to them can provide opportunities for Finland worldwide. The threat of climate change is universally recognised and measures to limit global warming have been adopted. The Paris Agreement sets a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to below 2°C. In addition to reducing emissions the goal is pursued by strengthening the parties’ climate adaptation capacity and their ability to deal with the impacts of climate change. Yet another goal is to channel climate financing towards supporting low-carbon and climate resilient development. The transformation process from fossil fuels to renewables, expedited by the Paris Agreement, will significantly impact the balance of economic and political power in the world. Population growth, accelerating urbanisation, migration between and within states, poverty, youth unemployment, food security, scarce natural resources and the change in the nature of conflict are examples of interlinked issues. Epidemics and pandemics are also security threats. Authoritarian and semiauthoritarian governments and many fragile democracies around the world hamper the operation of democratic institutions and limit basic freedoms and human rights as well as the right of expression and social media. At the same time the lives of millions of people around the world have improved and poverty has been reduced owing to better educational opportunities, longer life expectancy and technological progress. This progress, however, has been inequitable. The mounting polarisation of societies is a risk that keeps growing. This also increases the vulnerability of western democracies and undermines the foundation of international cooperation. Globalisation and digitalisation are replacing traditional industrialisation as the central momentum for change in the global economy. New technologies are expected to become cheaper and increasingly accessible well into the future. This makes it possible to integrate these technologies in the production of goods and services, eroding the importance of geographic location. Globalisation will continue through, among other things, automated production, robotics, 3-D printing, digitalisation, the Industrial Internet and artificial intelligence; together they form a trend which is often called the 9