Humans

• [New] The global space industry is currently experiencing significant growth as space-related technologies are rapidly adopted by other industries to enhance their output and the revenue generated by the global space industry is forecasted to reach over than USD 1 trillion by 2040.
• [New] Among the highest likelihood risks of the next 10 years are extreme weather, climate action failure and human-led environmental damage, the report states, as well as digital power concentration, digital inequality and cybersecurity failure.
• [New] Equally troublesome is the number of people facing acute food insecurity - or at risk of becoming so - having doubled over the course of 2020, according to the UN, rising to 271 million by the end of the year.
• [New] The United States will work to support international humanitarian relief and resilience efforts aimed to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19 and to support the capacity of most vulnerable communities to prevent, respond to, and mitigate primary and secondary impacts of COVID-19.
• [New] The United States will join the approximately 190 other countries that participate in the global vaccine distribution arrangement, engage with the COVID-19 Tools (ACT) accelerator, and make recommendations on a framework for donating future U.S. vaccine surplus.
• [New] Recognizing that COVID-19 is a global challenge that requires a global response, the United States will work with other countries to combat COVID-19 and achieve a world that is safe and secure from biological catastrophes.
• [New] The United States will promote sustainable global health and global health security, rebuild health security alliances, elevate U.S. efforts to support the Global Health Security Agenda, and revitalize U.S. leadership.
• [New] The United States will take steps to enhance humanitarian relief and support for the capacity of the most vulnerable communities to prevent, detect, respond to, mitigate, and recover from impacts of COVID-19, such as food insecurity and gender-based violence.
• [New] Three of the world's biggest mining companies - BHP, Anglo American and Glencore - could be forced to close Latin America's largest open pit mine as the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) investigates environmental destruction and alleged human rights abuses.
• [New] Three of the world's biggest miners including BHP could be forced to close down Latin America's largest open pit mine, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) set to investigate environmental destruction and alleged human rights abuses.
• [New] Human rights are expected to return as a foreign policy priority for the Biden administration, but some governments in Asia grew comfortable with Trump turning a blind eye.
• [New] Biden's goal of advancing human rights should command agreement from a wide range of potential partners and will help the United States reaffirm its commitment to universal values after four years of selective advocacy of certain rights, such as religious freedom.
• [New] Digital communications are a means to supplement voice communication and can make transmissions faster, reduce the risk of human error, quickly build situational awareness, enhance target correlation, and shorten the CAS execution timeline overall.
• [New] Reaching a trade deal (which Trump could not), human rights issues in Kashmir, extending visa regimes, and emphasizing climate change cooperation would be some of the other areas of thrust for Biden's India policy.
• [New] 2021 will see the next generation of cloud collaboration tools, armed with internal social networking and resource management, heighten the employee experience and ensure workers feel included.
• [New] We cannot rule out the possibility that the US-China commercial relationship will deteriorate further in 2021, as more sensitive, complicated, and structural issues began to get involved, such as national security, forced labour, and human rights.
• [New] Over the next years, with 68% of the people in the world living in them, cities will shape every aspect of global development - including the manner in how human rights are won and implemented.
• [New] The possibility that the UK might end the year without a deal with the EU on future relations raised concerns about a negative impact on food and medicine supplies, on human rights in Northern Ireland and that the UK might seek to water down employment and other rights derived from EU law in future.
• [New] Going forward, while the US' rhetoric could increase, owing to Biden's focus on non-traditional threats and human rights issues, regional powers will assume prominence on security and economic matters.
• [New] Afghanistan now has the second highest number of people in emergency food insecurity in the world, while nearly one in two children under-five will face acute malnutrition in 2021.
• We cannot rule out the possibility that the US-China commercial relationship will deteriorate further in 2021, as more sensitive, complicated, and structural issues began to get involved, such as national security, forced labor, and human rights.

Last updated: 24 January 2021