GEO ‘welcomed with the utmost consideration’ in the G7 Climate, Energy and Environment Ministers’ Communiqué
The recent G7 meeting for Ministers of Climate, Energy and the Environment on 15th - 16th April 2023 in Sapporo, Japan came with some exciting news with regards to GEO. The meeting emphasized the significance of incorporating the most reliable scientific evidence and Indigenous knowledge and indicated the value of the contributions of esteemed organizations such as UNEP’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO) as well as Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and its Sixth Assessment Report (AR6), the Intergovernmental Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the International Resource Panel, and other pertinent international science and policy groups, along with their reports. The meeting called for continued cooperation and communication among these scientific communities.
GEO, which is now in its seventh edition, aims to evaluate solutions pathways for policymakers, by providing comprehensive guidance on the practical steps needed for policy development, adoption, implementation, and timing. It will also address the potential challenges, ways to assess and manage synergies, trade-offs, unintended consequences, and the potential socio-economic benefits of these transformations in the three interdependent human systems of food, energy and materials/waste. The reason for focusing on these areas is that Member States have emphasized the urgent need for sustained action to address critical environmental issues in the GEO-6 Summary for Policymakers and other assessments. However, many Member States may face barriers such as the political economy context, lack of financing for environmentally sustainable actions, economic policies with significant environmental impacts, education or habit barriers, or lack of coordination.
The First Author’s Meeting in Bangkok, Thailand from 13-17 March 2023 kicked off the drafting of GEO-7 with a first draft of the report expected to be ready for expert peer review in February 2024. More than 200 experts will be involved in the GEO-7 process and will be led by the illustrious Co-chairs of the GEO-7, Sir Bob Watson, Former Environment Minister of Costa Rica Dr. Edgar Gutierrez, Prof. Nyovani Madise and Prof. Ying Wang.
More on GEO-7 can be found here.
