The Global Environment Outlook

UNEP Event
15-01-2024
First Indigenous Knowledge and Local Knowledge Dialogue to support the preparation of the GEO-7 Assessment
Press release
06-12-2022
Environmental experts lay the groundwork for a solution-focused GEO-7

Since 1995, UNEP’s flagship Outlook Report has watched the horizons of environmental change – alerting us to how our actions are influencing the planet on which we live.

The Global Environmental Outlook (GEO) is a series of reports that review the state and direction of the global environment. It is a global process conducted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at regional, national, and local levels around the world. The process provides an assessment of the current state of the environment, an evaluation of the effectiveness of policies and actions taken to address environmental issues, and projections of future environmental trends.

The resolution on the future of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) was approved by Member States in March, 2022 and the road to GEO-7 is well underway. The First Global Author's Meeting for the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7) ran from 13-17 March 2023 and the Second Global Author's meeting will run from 15-19 January 2024. The latest on GEO-7 developments can be found here.

The GEO-7 journey has begun

GEO-6 Process

The rigorous assessment process aims to make Global Environment Outlook (GEO) products scientifically credible and policy relevant by providing information to support environmental management and policy development. The Global Environment Outlook 6 process also supports multi-stakeholder networking and intra and inter-regional cooperation to identify and assess key priority environmental issues at the regional levels.

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GEO-6 for Youth

The GEO-6 for Youth report is a one-stop-shop for a young person to understand the state of the environment, what they can do every day to drive markets to adopt environmentally sustainable products and services and how to develop their skills and choose environmentally sustainable careers. 

See GEO-6 for Youth report

GEO-6 for Cities

GEO for Cities is a project set up by and for city people. Cities can be dynamic engines of economic and social development, offering higher wages, access to amenities and better education for those who move from rural to urban areas. But cities have huge environmental footprints and are also impacted significantly by environmental crises related to climate change. 

See GEO for Cities report

GEO-6 for Business

The launched Global Environment Outlook for Business briefs look at the GEO findings through a business lens. Written ‘by business for business’, the briefs bring the science of the GEO to the business community to support them in developing plans, business strategies, technology pathways, mechanisms and enablers towards building a green and circular economy.

See GEO for Business Report

Future of GEO

The Steering Committee on the Future of GEO consisting of 36 Member States fulfilled the mandate provided to it by UNEA-4 in Resolution 4/23 by submitting an options document to UNEA 5.2.

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Adhoc Global Assessments Dialogue

The Adhoc Global Assessment Dialogue (AGAD) is an informal process that brings together the Heads of Secretariats and the Co-chairs of major global environmental assessments supported by the UN and its Member States, leveraging inputs from thousands of scientific authors and stakeholders, with the main objective of finding synergies and opportunities for coordination across major assessments. 

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