Five trends are highlighted. One. Societal demands for environmental qualities increase across countries as incomes grow. Two. The neo-liberal policies and degrowth ideas fail in realising their claims, while the idea of sustainable development has robust foundations. Three. Incomes and well-being increase while impacts on the environment decrease across countries due to growing material-extensive services and environmental technologies. Four. Environmental performances improve if industries generate higher value services and authorities invest in sustainable innovations. Five. Democratic governances with capable institutions perform better than the authortarian ones.