GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT OUTLOOK

Background
Assessing and reporting on the state of the world’s environment is a fundamental mandate of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). To this end, the UNEP Division of Early Warning and Assessment (DEWA) is responsible for undertaking assessments of the state and trends of the global environment. The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is a consultative, participatory, capacity building process for global environmental assessment and reporting on the state of the environment, trends and future outlooks. GEO is both a process involving stakeholders from across the globe, as well as a product for environmental decision-making. The GEO process aims to facilitate the interaction between science and policy making. The Global Environment Outlook Process is the practical implementation of UNEP’s mandate to keep the global environment under review. It was initiated at the request of the UNEP Governing Council in 1995.

GEO-4
The Global Environment Outlook (GEO) aims to ensure that environmental problems and emerging issues of wide international  Significance receive appropriate, adequate and timely consideration by governments and other stakeholders.

GEO-4 specific objective is to:

The objective, scope and overall outline of GEO-4 is to provide a global, comprehensive, reliable and scientifically credible, policy‑relevant and legitimate up-to-date assessment of and outlook regarding the interaction between environment and society. It will, among others:

¨      Present global and regional issues in the context of the development of international environmental governance and its relation to the Millennium Development Goals and targets since the World Commission on Sustainable Development (the Brundtland Commission, 1987), inter alia in the Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, the Millennium Declaration, the Johannesburg Declaration and Plan of Implementation and relevant environmental global and regional instruments;

¨      Assess the state and trends of the global environment in relation to previous GEO reports, analysing human driving forces and pressures, and the impact of natural phenomena on the environment, the consequences of environmental change for ecosystem services and human well-being, progress and barriers towards meeting commitments under multilateral environmental agreements, and  the effectiveness of policy responses.

¨      Assess interlinkages between major environmental challenges and their consequences for policy and technology response options, and trade-offs, identifying success stories and lessons learned. It will also assess opportunities for technology and policy interventions for both mitigating and adapting to environmental change.

¨      Assess challenges and opportunities of certain key cross-cutting issues, particularly as they relate to how environment can contribute to the sustainable development goals and targets, and how environmental degradation can impede progress towards those targets, focusing on vulnerable groups, species, ecosystems and areas. Issues highlighted in the Bali Strategic Plan for Technology Support and Capacity-building are of particular significance.

¨      Present a global and subglobal outlook, including  short-term (up to 2015) and medium-term (up to 2050) scenarios for the major environmental issues and possible policy responses, using examples from global, regional and local level wherever possible and appropriate.

Assess environment for development, focusing on the state of knowledge regarding the effectiveness of various environmental policies, particularly mainstreaming environmental concerns into social and economic plans and policies, and enforcement of and compliance with multilateral environmental agreements.

Meetings/Workshops
GEO-4 Expert Meeting, September 2004

• List of Participants
• Minutes

GEO-4 Regional Planning Meeting, November 2004

• List of Participants
• Minutes

Links
To download a PDF copy and for further information click here: http://www.unep.org/geo/

Contact us:
For further information, please contact us:
Address: GEO,
Assessment and Reporting Component
UNEP RRC.AP
Outreach Building
Asian Institute of Technology
PO Box 4, KlongLuang 12120, THAILAND
Phone: (66-2)516-2124, 524-5365
Fax: (66-2)516-2125, 524-6233 (Kindly indicate 'GEO’ in the subject line)
(Kindly indicate 'GEO’ in the subject line)