News: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has released the seventh edition of its flagship Global Environment Outlook (GEO).
About Global Environment Outlook (GEO)
- The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) evaluates the state of the global environment and identifies emerging risks and sustainability pathways.
- Released by: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
- GEO synthesizes multidisciplinary scientific research from experts worldwide to provide policymakers with actionable insights for addressing climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, and other environmental challenges.
- 2025 Edition: It is the 7th edition of GEO.
- Key Findings
- Climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation, pollution, and waste: These are escalating simultaneously across the planet, collectively pushing the world into “uncharted territory.”
- Unsustainable Production and Consumption are the Root Cause: These unsustainable systems undermine human well-being and result in trillions of dollars in annual economic losses.
- Environmental Degradation Has High Economic Costs: The loss of ecosystem services, increasing climate impacts, and pollution-related health burdens significantly reduce global economic productivity.
- Transformation Is Technically and Economically Feasible: Such a transformation could generate approximately USD 20 trillion per year by 2070 and up to USD 100 trillion per year in the long term.
- Current Policy Actions Are Insufficient: The report concludes that incremental changes will not be enough to reverse ongoing environmental decline.
- Global Inequalities Amplify Environmental Pressures: Access to clean energy, clean water, and sustainable food remains deeply uneven across countries and communities.
- Need for Stronger, Integrated Action: The findings demonstrate that global environmental pressures require stronger, integrated, and coordinated action to prevent further ecological and socio-economic harm.
- Key Recommendations
- Transform Economic and Financial Systems
- Accelerate Circular Economy Transitions
- Rapid Decarbonization of the Energy System
- Transform Food and Land-Use Systems
- Protect and Restore Ecosystems and Biodiversity
- Advance Integrated, Whole-of-Society Approaches
- Regional Customization of Solutions
