The Steering Committee on the Future of GEO, consisting of 36 Member States, fulfilled the mandate provided to it by the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) in Resolution 4/23 by submitting an options document on the future of GEO to the resumed session of UNEA-5 (UNEA-5.2). The Committee met face-to-face once and on numerous occasions online to oversee the process and develop material needed in the feasibility study. The Committee also held virtual workshops where all members discussed and agreed on final reports and material.
In its resolution 4/23, entitled “Keeping the World Environment under review: enhancing the United Nations Environment Programme science-policy interface and endorsement of the Global Environment Outlook," the United Nations Environment Assembly of the United Nations Environment Programme requested a broad consultation on the options for the future of the Global Environment Outlook. This was to ensure that the resulting options presented to UNEA-5 were deeply researched, well-reflected upon and legitimate. To achieve this, two broad consultations were conducted during this future of GEO work. The two consultations involved Member States, stakeholders and assessment experts, as requested in the resolution.
The first broad consultation was conducted online as part of the preparation of the interim report of the Steering Committee on the future of the Global Environment Outlook, which was submitted for consideration by the Environment Assembly during the online meeting of its fifth session. It was backed up by a background document prepared by a group of independent consultants as a key analytical resource for future GEO work and a co-chair summary identifying key potential building blocks for future GEO.
As part of its ongoing work during the UNEA intersession period, the Steering Committee held a second broad consultation on the findings of the feasibility study on the financial, administrative, and collaborative consequences of the recommended options and approaches for the future of the Global Environment Outlook, as those findings would be an integral part of the Steering Committee's final report. A feasibility study report prepared by the Steering Committee on the Future of GEO and an interim report submitted to the opening session of UNEA-5 in February 2021 supported the Future of GEO feasibility study consultation. The entire consultation occurred online due to the COVID-19 global health pandemic.
First Face-to-Face Meeting of the Future of Global Environment Outlook (GEO) Steering committee
The Steering Committee on the Future of GEO and the Secretariat met in the Ministry of the Environment offices in Prague, the Czech Republic, from 31 October–1 November 2019 to achieve the following objectives:
- Update Steering Committee members on the rationale and details of resolution UNEP/EA.4/RES.23 and lessons learnt from the GEO process, particularly concerning the preparation of GEO-4, GEO-5, and GEO-6.
- Consider and approve the main issues to be reviewed in the options document;
- Consider and approve the work plan and timeline for the preparation of the options document and for conducting the broad consultations on the future of GEO
- Consider and approve the Terms of Reference for the work on the options document and the broad consultations
