Certainly, it's possible to engineer solutions to sustain the population. But then the population continues growing, and then you need to engineer new solutions. With each step, the planet becomes more like Coruscant, and less like Earth. :)

It seems the powers that be decided the best time to stop and reverse this, is now. Even worse, though, is how they envision to transform society if they succeed. They plan for annihilation of individuality and total control. To quote George Orwell:

"If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face - forever."