Following a very successful UN Environment Assembly, the resolution on the future of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) was approved by Member States on March 2, 2022 and GEO-7 process preparations began with the inaugural meetings of GEO-7, the Ad hoc Open Ended Meeting of the Assessment Procedures and Supporting Functions of the Global Environment Outlook Meeting and the second ad hoc open ended meeting of the seventh Global Environment Outlook.
GEO-7 will build on GEO-6 and also continue to assess the state and trends on the global environment, the implications for human well-being and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as well as providing an outlook that provides useful guidance on the possible environmental and socio-economic implications of the transformational changes needed. This will ensure continuity with previous GEOs and allow GEO-7 to provide some updates on the environmental impact of the global pandemic and recent disasters and conflicts. For the outlook, GEO-7 may be able to provide modelling and scenarios analysis of the socio-economic impacts (both positive and negative) of different solutions pathways. This additional analysis will provide additional rationale for Member States to implement the proposed solutions pathways.
The GEO-7 process involves a world-wide network of authors, fellows and partners; a transparent nomination process that allows governments and other stakeholders to nominate experts to the process; advisory groups to provide guidance on scientific and policy issues such as the Multidisciplinary Expert Scientific Advisory Group (MESAG) and the Intergovernmental and Multi-stakeholder Advisory Group (IMAG) and a comprehensive peer review processes are some of the integral elements of GEO-7.
The working structure of GEO-7 is different from GEO-6 in that it includes a Bureau of the Ad hoc Open-ended meetings; a Coordination group that includes the chairs and vice chairs of the assessment, the advisory bodies, the bureau of the ad hoc open-ended meetings and the secretariat; collaborating centres and technical support units. The Bureau of the ad hoc open-ended meeting chaired the Procedures meeting, the scoping meeting and will chair the Summary for Policy Maker’s meeting in 2025. The structure incorporates guidance on policy relevance from the IMAG, scientific credibility from the MESAG and Co-Chairs and Vice Co-Chairs who will act as a bridge between the authors and advisory bodies and GEO Fellows whose role will be to support the process by assisting the authors with research questions and data analysis and drafting. The structure also considers Review editors who will conduct evaluations at the end of each review period to ensure that review comments are dealt with appropriately.
Digitization of GEO: User Needs Consultation Webinars
The resumed fifth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA 5.2) requested UNEP’s Executive Director to prepare the seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook, and to do this by ‘developing and implementing streamlined and cost-effective governance and administration’. In line with the UN Secretary General’s ‘Our Common Agenda’, UNEP would like to implement this new governance and administrative model for GEO by fostering increased digital cooperation. This approach is also in line with UNEP’s approach to its Digital Transformations. This new approach will focus on developing five new digital functionalities built into one digital platform to support the production of GEO-7.
This first consultative webinar was organized to further expand on key areas of focus in a needs-assessment study for GEO-7 and to help guide informed input into a questionnaire. This consultative study covers five main areas of GEO digitization:
1. Online graphing and mapping capabilities and tools
2. Online tools for development of terms
3. Automation of definitions and glossaries
4. Online management of peer review processes
5. Digital presentation of GEO-6 in an interactive and user-friendly way
