The global future lies before us as a highly uncertain and contested landscape. This study examines four contrasting possibilities in quantitative detail, revealing vividly the risks of conventional approaches and the dangers of descent. At the same time, the paper underscores that a Great Transition scenario, a turning toward a civilization of enhanced human well-being and environmental resilience, remains an option, and identifies a pathway for getting there. Such a fundamental shift in the development paradigm is found to be both an urgent necessity for assuring a sustainable future and a hopeful opportunity for creating a world of enriched lives, human amity, and a healthy ecosphere.
