1066. A Global Foresight on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing

To prepare for a future of uncertainty and rapid change, we must address strategically and institutionally with an outlook and perspective on the risks facing the world in the future. UNEP has published ‘Navigating New Horizons: A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing’.
　

The report points out that the world today is already in a different context than it was 10 years ago, with the pace of technological progress, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events, and the turbulence of the geopolitical landscape becoming more and more intense, and that the fate of a country can easily change the fate of a country. In fact, the world is on the verge of a "polycrisis" in which complex crises are expanding, accelerating, and synchronizing. The acceleration of the three crises related to the Earth—climate change, loss of biodiversity and nature, environmental pollution, and waste—is fueling a crisis for humanity, such as conflicts over territory and resources.

As we have already witnessed over the past two years, unrelated events such as COVID-19, Russia's invasion of Ukraine, conflicts in Gaza and Sudan, and rising global energy and living costs are all realities that ripple out around the world. Therefore, it is important not to overlook the signs of small changes, but to be prepared for sudden changes and to be able to deal with them calmly.

In fact, innovative technologies such as AI are having both positive and negative impacts on environmental, lifestyle, and lifestyle decision-making. The rapid rise in demand for minerals for clean energy is expected to affect biodiversity, nature, food, water security, and environmental pollution, and the pressure is being felt in the deep ocean, outside the Earth's atmosphere, and into space. The surge in activity in outer space has also raised concerns about the increase in space debris.

On the other hand, there are concerns about weaponizing the latest technology and using access to water, food, fuel and critical infrastructure as hostages. Signs of antibiotic resistance, zoonotic disease outbreaks, and the resurgence of ancient viruses due to permafrost thawing require monitoring. Uninsurable risks and losses undermine long-term development, poverty eradication, and environmental protection efforts. Increased fossil fuel subsidies are regressing the energy transition, and a deepening mental health crisis caused by anxiety can lead to profound change by overlooking improbable signs of crisis.

The good news is that the impacts of multiple crises are often intertwined, and that can also be said about solutions. The report provides several insights to shift the status quo from the abyss of a polycrisis to a state of stability. The report proposes a new social contract that sets out generational equality and shared values that bind us together, not divide us, as the key to a better future.

Reference
United Nations Environment Programme (2024). Navigating New Horizons: A global foresight report on planetary health and human wellbeing. Nairobi.
https://wedocs.unep.org/20.500.11822/45890

Contributor: IIYAMA Miyuki, Information Program