ETC ST Report 2025/6: Horizon Scanning 2025 Results of the EEA – Eionet participatory horizon scan to identify emerging issues relevant to sustainable consumption & production
24 Sep 2026
Sylvia Veenhoff, Ullrich Lorenz, Ana Keser
This Horizon Scanning report addresses emerging issues influencing sustainable consumption and production in Europe over the coming decades. Recognising rapid changes in global supply chains, digital platforms, social practices, and geopolitical conditions, the report seeks to identify early signals of change that may drive systemic transformations. It highlights the accelerating pace of innovation and the shifting societal dynamics challenging existing environmental policies and governance frameworks, emphasising the need for anticipatory and integrated policy responses.
The report explores emerging issues on consumption through the lens of human behaviour, neuroscience, and market dynamics, revealing how digital environments and the attention economy intensify consumption patterns, sometimes fostering addictive behaviours and excess. It unpacks the acceleration of product lifecycles, driven by technological advances and changing competitive pressures, alongside growing ethical and environmental concerns about unchecked innovation in areas such as artificial intelligence, biotechnology, and space travel. The report draws attention to the widening gap between innovation speed and regulatory capacity, with potential related risks of undermining sustainable development goals.
Production-related emerging issues include Europe's quest for strategic autonomy in critical raw materials and technological sovereignty, the impact of large tech companies as market super-entities, and the integration of digital and biotechnologies into life and industry. The report discusses challenges in balancing deregulation with environmental safeguards, addressing rising inequalities, and managing systemic risks linked to rapid technological and societal change. It stresses the benefits of breaking down silos between production and consumption policies through systemic approaches to support the development of more resilient and circular economies.
The participatory methodology involved a broad stakeholder engagement through workshops and expert consultation, which led to the identification of eight emerging issues reflecting societal, technological, economic, and environmental dimensions.
