The Steering Committee on the Future of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO), consisting of 36 Member States, fulfilled its mandate by the fourth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) in Resolution 4/23 by submitting an options document to the resumed session of UNEA-5 (UNEA-5.2). The ‘Future of GEO’ process, launched at UNEA-4 through UNEP/EA.4/RES.23, was initiated to develop options for the future of the Global Environment Outlook. This process was designed to deliver these options and, likely, a recommendation to UNEA 5.2 in February 2022.
Resolution EA.4/23 requests the UNEP Executive Director to prepare ‘an options document on the future of the GEO process, in broad consultation with Member States, stakeholders and the custodians of other global environmental assessment processes, focusing on the scope and objectives of the Global Environment Outlook process. The resolution also established a member-states-led Steering Committee under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Assembly to oversee and manage the consultations for and preparation of the options document. From its first face-to-face meeting in Prague, Czech Republic (30 October – 1 November 2019) to its final virtual workshop (8 – 16 November 2021), the Steering Committee worked to fulfil this mandate.
The 36-member States Steering Committee of the Future of GEO developed and presented an interim report on future options for the Global Environment Outlook process at the opening session of the fifth session of the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-5) in February 2021. The interim report set out four (4) options proposed for the Future of GEO. The report also established the criteria for evaluating these options: "the overall feasibility, including continuity of operations for the periodic production of GEO, in terms of implications for current administrative, financial and collaborative structures and other initiatives in UNEPs science-policy interface”. Since a decision on the future of GEO could not be negotiated and decided at the virtual session of UNEA-5, the Steering Committee was allowed to continue with its work in the UNEA intersession period and deliver a fully developed paper on the future of GEO in the resumed session of UNEA-5.
Consequently, following up on its interim report to the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme at the online meeting of its fifth session (UNEP/EA.5/24), the Steering Committee conducted a feasibility study on the financial, administrative and collaborative consequences of the options for the future of the Global Environment Outlook proposed in the interim report. The Committee, therefore, worked during the UNEA-5 intersession period to draft a feasibility study, consult the Member States, stakeholders and assessment experts and explore the approaches, alternatives, options and suggestions for the future of GEO. This study was designed to provide the analytical foundation for the Steering Committee to make decisions on the administrative, financial, and collaborative arrangements, including governance, procedures, and scientific and technical elements, of the four options presented in the interim report to make recommendations to the UNEA-5 session that will resume in February 2022. The Committee's final report is intended to provide UNEA with rationale and supporting evidence on the various elements involved in designing future GEO options so that it can make an informed decision.
The Steering Committee considered a number of issues in its final deliberation. Among these are:
- determining the overall orientation of GEO in terms of its objectives, functions, design criteria and process;
- establishing the governance and implementation structure for GEO;
- requesting the relevant governance and implementation structures to develop procedures, undertake assessments and address needs in capacity building, knowledge generation and policy support; and
- considering how best to resource and administer the GEO process to ensure its objectives can be delivered in a timely and cost-effectively.
The final leadership of the Steering Committee was as follows;
Co-chairs: Ivar Andreas Baste (Norway) and Yi Huang (China)
Vice-chairs: Jerome Sebadduka Lugumira (Uganda) and Toral Patel-Weynand (USA)
Rapporteur: Rafael Monge Vargas (Costa Rica)
The Steering Committee's final report to the UNEA-5 resumed session in February 2022 resulted in a decision on the Future of GEO.
