African governments face a major dilemma. On the one hand, structural transformation is necessary for achieving substantial and broad-based improvements in human well-being. On the other hand, structural transformation, together with rising affluence and a growing population, will necessarily intensify environmental pressures because of the increasing demand for natural resources, including both material and energy inputs used in production, the expanding magnitude of waste and pollution, and the growing reliance on non-renewable resources.

The Report suggests that this dilemma can be resolved by employing a development strategy called sustainable structural transformation. This involves the adoption of deliberate, concerted and proactive measures to promote structural transformation and the relative decoupling of natural resource use and environmental impacts from the growth process. Decoupling refers here to using fewer resources per unit of economic output (i.e. increasing resource productivity or resource efficiency) and mitigating the environmental impact of any resources that are used or economic activities that are carried out.