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In order to enhance the competitiveness of Estonian economy and ensure sustainable development, we need to increase our investments into developing green technologies. Estonia’s weak point is that the state support for research and development in local businesses is inadequate and erratic, shows the Foresight Centre report “Green Transition Trends and Scenarios in Estonia”.

Wood-based bio-products could come to replace oil-based ones, and Estonia has a strong economic potential in bio-refining, both in the stage of research and development as well as production, says the Foresight Centre brief report “Biorefining Wood: Today and in the Future”.

Producing and consuming cultured meat could dramatically reduce the environmental footprint of food production and help improve public health. The research and development linked to the production of meat substitutes offers a massive economic opportunity for Estonia, says Foresight Centre in its brief report “Cultured Meat and Other Meat Substitutes: Today and in the Future”.

Teachers in Estonia prefer to work in schools with a good management culture, and salary is not the only deciding factor. According to the recently published brief report of the Foresight Centre “The Reputation of the Teaching Profession in Estonia and Its Development Prospects”, the quality of management and a healthy working culture in schools have a key role in shaping the reputation of the teaching profession.

The average environmental footprint of an Estonian resident exceeds the planetary boundary by 3.8 times but depends greatly on the individual’s place of residence and income, shows the Foresight Centre report “Environmental footprint of Estonian residents by social groups and regions”.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 32,000 people have registered their residence in Estonia and war refugees make up around 2.2% of the Estonian population. According to the Foresight Centre brief report “The Burden of Municipalities in Hosting Ukrainian War Refugees”, the share of refugees in the population and the burden relating to hosting them varies considerably from one municipality to another.

The average salaries of teachers have grown faster than the average salaries overall in Estonia; if the current trend continues, these would reach 120% of the national average in 2024. However, higher salaries often include overtime or extra work, which means that Estonian teachers are overburdened, shows the Foresight Centre report “Teachers’ salaries”.

The Ukrainian war refugees potentially settling in Estonia will somewhat delay the decrease of the population in Estonia, but the immigration will have a shorter-term impact compared to the earlier projection, is revealed by the report “Ukrainian War Refugees in Estonia – Population and Integration” by the Foresight Centre, published today.

According to the report “Ukrainian Children in the Estonian Education System”, published by the Foresight Centre, the Estonian schools and kindergartens are generally managing well the extra workload that came with the Ukrainian refugee pupils, but the shortage of teachers and support specialists is putting schools in a very unequal position when it comes to Ukrainian children.

The average environmental footprint of an Estonian transgresses the planetary boundary by 3.8 times, while that of an European is 2.9 times larger than the planetary boundary. According to the report “The Average Environmental Footprint of Estonians and Europeans”, recently published by the Foresight Centre, Estonians have a larger environmental footprint with regard to electricity, heating, food and appliances, while their environmental footprint of mobility is smaller than that of Europeans.