The seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook, known as GEO-7, delivers one of the starkest assessments yet of the planet’s condition. Published by the United Nations Environment Programme, the report warns that humanity is pushing Earth’s natural systems to the brink, with escalating risks to public health, economic stability, and long-term development.

Yet GEO-7 is not framed as a story of inevitability. Instead, it argues that a different future remains within reach if governments, businesses, and societies commit to transforming five foundational systems: the economy and finance, materials and waste, energy, food, and the natural environment. According to UNEP, reforming these systems together could reshape global development pathways over the coming decades.

The Case for Rethinking Economic Success

For decades, gross domestic product has served as the dominant measure of national progress. GEO-7 argues that this metric is increasingly inadequate, as it ignores the long-term economic damage caused by environmental degradation. Ecosystem loss, pollution, and climate impacts may boost short-term output while quietly eroding future prosperity.

The report calls for broader measures of wealth, including natural capital accounting. By assigning value to ecosystems and the services they provide, countries can gain a more accurate picture of their true economic position and make fiscal decisions that reflect environmental limits rather than undermine them.

Realigning Incentives That Shape Global Markets

GEO-7 highlights how current economic incentives often reward activities that degrade the environment. Subsidies supporting fossil fuels, extractive industries, and unsustainable agriculture continue to distort markets and lock in harmful practices.

UNEP estimates that redirecting roughly US$1.5 trillion per year in environmentally damaging subsidies could significantly accelerate the transition to sustainable systems. The report also argues that taxes and pricing mechanisms should better reflect environmental costs, while revenues are used to protect vulnerable communities. Aligning national budgets with global agreements such as the Paris Agreement is presented as essential for ensuring consistency between climate goals and economic policy.

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Waste, Pollution, and the Shift to Circular Systems

Rising volumes of plastic waste, chemical pollution, and electronic waste are overwhelming ecosystems across the globe. GEO-7 identifies circular economy models as a central solution, emphasising the need to keep materials in use for longer through better design, repair, reuse, and recycling.

The report argues that circularity must move beyond pilot initiatives and become embedded in regulation, education, and taxation systems. By redesigning products for longevity and requiring producers to account for lifecycle impacts, governments can reduce waste while lowering resource dependency. UNEP describes circularity as a cross-cutting enabler that supports progress across energy, food, and material systems simultaneously.

Accelerating the Energy Transition

Despite rapid growth in renewables, fossil fuels still account for more than four-fifths of global energy consumption. GEO-7 warns that without a faster transition, climate-related disasters will intensify, threatening lives, infrastructure, and economic stability.

The report calls for large-scale expansion of renewable energy, widespread electrification of transport and industry, and the use of alternative fuels such as hydrogen where electrification is not feasible. At the same time, demand-side measures such as energy-efficient buildings and compact urban design are seen as equally critical. UNEP also stresses that the extraction of energy transition minerals must be managed responsibly to avoid new forms of environmental harm and social injustice.

Transforming Food Systems From Production to Consumption

Food systems sit at the centre of the climate, biodiversity, and pollution crises. GEO-7 finds that current patterns of production and consumption are incompatible with long-term sustainability, driving emissions, land degradation, and ecosystem loss.

The report calls for dietary shifts, particularly in high-income countries, alongside more efficient and environmentally sensitive farming practices. Reducing food waste, diversifying supply chains, and exploring new food technologies such as alternative proteins and controlled-environment agriculture are presented as complementary strategies. Together, these changes could ease pressure on land and ecosystems while improving food security.

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Protecting Nature as a Foundation for Human Wellbeing

At the heart of GEO-7 is a warning about the accelerating loss of biodiversity and natural systems. Climate change, land degradation, and pollution are converging into what UNEP describes as a triple planetary crisis, threatening the stability of life-support systems on which economies depend.

The report urges governments to expand protected areas, restore degraded ecosystems, and improve stewardship of land and marine resources. Nature-based solutions, such as urban greening to reduce heat stress, are highlighted as cost-effective responses to climate impacts. GEO-7 also emphasises the importance of transparent and equitable governance of shared natural resources, from forests to fisheries.

A Whole-of-Society Transition

UNEP concludes that transforming these five systems will require an unprecedented level of coordination across governments, markets, and civil society. The potential rewards are significant. By mid-century, the report estimates that such reforms could prevent millions of premature deaths, reduce poverty and hunger, and generate trillions of dollars in long-term economic benefits.

GEO-7 positions sustainability not as a constraint on development, but as its foundation. The report’s central message is that environmental repair and economic prosperity are not competing goals. Instead, they are inseparable outcomes of a development model that respects planetary limits while prioritising human wellbeing.

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