Tomorrow is the speculative horizon — a collection of forward-looking visions, forecasts, and imagined breakthroughs for humanity’s next chapters. These entries explore what progress might look like beyond the present, from scientific leaps to social innovations still taking shape.
Coal-fired power could vanish worldwide by 2040, when the last plant — a 74-year-old facility in China’s Shanxi Province — is projected to go dark. Global coal capacity already peaked around 2022, as solar and wind became the cheapest new electricity in history. If the trend holds, cleaner air and roughly 800,000 fewer pollution deaths each year would follow.
China EV sales could hit 99% of new passenger cars by 2039, closing the book on the combustion era in the world’s largest auto market. The momentum is already visible: fully electric models made up 25% of new sales back in 2023. If it holds, cleaner city air and quieter streets follow.
Global maternal mortality could fall below 100 deaths per 100,000 live births by 2039, a threshold once thought unreachable. Today the ratio sits near 197, with India already down from 384 in 2000 to 103 in 2020. If the trend holds, roughly 130,000 more women each year would survive pregnancy and childbirth.
Indonesia’s coal phase-out could be complete by 2039, with the country’s last coal plant — once the largest in Southeast Asia — going offline. Coal supplied more than 60% of the grid as recently as the mid-2020s, making the shift hard to imagine then. If it holds, it offers a real, if imperfect, template for other coal-heavy economies.
Female heads of state could lead 68 countries—one-third of UN members—by 2039, more than doubling the 2025 record of 29. The momentum is already visible: over 110 nations have adopted gender quotas in the past decade, and women now hold 41% of parliamentary seats globally. If it holds, a question that defined a century of politics may finally be settled.
Federal abortion rights are projected to become law by 2038, when Congress is on track to establish a nationwide baseline protecting access through fetal viability. That shift builds on real momentum — voters across multiple states, including conservative-leaning ones, have chosen protection at the ballot box. A statutory right would be far harder to erase than a judicial one.
Women’s legal equality in Iran could become reality by 2038, when a projected constitutional amendment would eliminate gender-based distinctions in dress codes, inheritance, and marriage law. That shift has a documented foundation: a 2020 survey found 72% of Iranians already opposed compulsory hijab. If it holds, it would mark the culmination of a movement built protest by protest since 2017.
Women in Parliament could make up a majority of the UK House of Commons by 2037 — something no election in British history has produced. Female representation has climbed steadily since 2024, driven by gender-balanced shortlisting and family-friendly reforms. If the trend holds, Parliament would finally look like the country it serves.
Single-use plastic bag bans could reach every nation on Earth by 2037, a milestone that once seemed impossibly ambitious. Today, roughly 60 countries have enforceable legislation — and trade pressure from EU and UK markets is quietly pulling the rest along. If the momentum holds, it would prove that 193 nations can genuinely move together on something that matters.
Type 1 diabetes could effectively become curable for millions within the next decade, if a new stem cell and immune-tolerance therapy holds up at scale. In trials, most participants regained natural insulin production and stayed off external insulin for two years. If access follows, this could end a century-long era of managing a disease that was never truly tamed.
