Science-Policy Dialogue for System Transformations Based on GEO-7 Report

This event aims at fostering a high‑level, inclusive science-policy dialogue on the findings of the 7th edition of the Global Environment Outlook, know as GEO-7, with a focus on translating global evidence into actionable insights and policy‑relevant pathways.

This special event will present the key findings and transformative messages of GEO‑7, highlighting systems transformation and future pathways, while examining their science‑policy implications for decision‑making, governance, and implementation. It will also explore how civil society and Indigenous and local communities enrich and operationalize the report’s transformative pathways by bridging scientific evidence with lived experience and policy action. Through keynotes, panel discussions, and an interactive workshop, the programme will spark active dialogue among Member States, academia, policy practitioners, and civil society on the role of science‑policy partnerships in driving system transformation, and identify key takeaways to inform future policy processes, partnerships, and actions.

More information: https://www.genevaenvironmentnetwork.org/events/a-future-we-choose-advancing-science-policy-dialogue-for-system-transformations-based-on-the-geo-7-report/

Launched in 1995, the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) is UNEP’s flagship environmental assessment, is the only report providing periodic updates on the state, trends, and projections of the global environment. This independent scientific assessment on the state of the environment also looks at the effectiveness of the policy response to address today’s environmental challenges, and possible pathways to achieve various internationally agreed environmental goals.

The seventh edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7), launched at the Seventh United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA-7), in December 2025, continues the tradition of delivering comprehensive, science-based information critical to guiding policy and action towards sustainability, addressing the complex environmental challenges of our time. The findings of GEO-7 aim to guide future environmental policies and strategies, helping countries take informed action toward sustainability.

The resolution adopted in 2022 on the future of the Global Environment Outlook also mentions the core function the process should undertake every four years: tracking trends, evaluating the effectiveness of the global policy response, including the future perspectives for all five environmental themes addressed in previous assessments, the drivers of environmental change and the interactions across these environmental themes, while benefitting from but not duplicating existing assessments.

Developed through a rigorous, inclusive review process between 2024 and 2025, GEO-7 reflects broad scientific credibility and global representation. The process brought together 287 experts from 82 countries and input from more than 800 reviewers. The report compares the current path – towards the triple planetary crisis of climate change, nature loss, and pollution – with an alternative, sustainable future, exploring the transformations needed to achieve it.

For the first time, Indigenous Peoples and traditional knowledge holders directly shaped the assessment, enriching scientific findings with place-based knowledge on resilience and stewardship.

Its findings show that while the risks of inaction are severe, integrated and transformative policies across energy, food, waste, and finance systems can still deliver major social, environmental, and economic benefits. Rapid Investments in sustainability could save millions of lives annually with long-term economic gains from transformation reaching up to US$20 trillion per year by 2070 and boom thereafter to US$100 trillion per year. The cost of inaction far outweighs the cost of transformation

The report calls on governments, non-governmental and multilateral organizations, the private sector, civil society, academia, professional organizations, the public and Indigenous Peoples to acknowledge the urgency of the global environmental crises, build on progress made in recent decades, and collaborate in the co-design and implementation of integrated policies, strategies and actions grounded in equity and justice to deliver a better future for all.

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Host or Publisher Geneva Environment Network