A new report from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finds that for every US$1 invested in nature conservation, the world spends US$30 on nature destruction, and it calls for a fundamental shift in global financing toward nature-based solutions (NbS) to correct this gross imbalance.

With chronic groundwater depletion, water overallocation, land and soil degradation, deforestation, and pollution exacerbated by global warming, a UN report has declared the dawn of an "Era of Global Water Bankruptcy" and called for a fundamental review of global water resource management plans.

On January 17, the UN Agreement on Biodiversity in the High Seas and Related Areas entered into force. It is expected to fill a regulatory gap in the high seas, which account for two-thirds of the ocean, complement national efforts, enable coordinated conservation measures in the high seas, and promote efforts to ensure the health of marine ecosystems for decades to come.

1419. Global Risks 2026

The Global Risks Report 2026, published annually by the World Economic Forum (WEF), showed that compared to previous years' reports, environmental risks, such as geopolitical, economic, and geoeconomic risks, have become more highly prioritized in the short term, while environmental risks have receded. However, environmental risks remain the most serious risk in the long-term, 10-year outlook.

A paper published in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences reported that in 2025, the heat accumulated in the world's oceans reached its highest level since modern record-keeping began in the early 1950s.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) released its World Food Price Trends report on January 9, showing that the average for December 2025 was 124.3 points, down 0.6% from November, due to declines in the price indexes for dairy products, meat, and vegetable oils outweighing increases in the cereal and sugar price indexes. This index is down 2.3% from its level one year ago and 22.4% from its peak in March 2022. For the full year of 2025, the average index was 127.2 points, up 5.2 points (4.3%) from the 2024 average.

A paper published in The BMJ called for bold and ambitious thinking, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration based on planetary health, which integrates environmental sustainability, public health, and social equity, to address the complex nexus of climate change, food systems, nutrition, and health.

At the end of 2025, the World Weather Attribution (WWA) team, which analyzes the causal relationship between extreme weather events and climate change, published a report looking back at 2025 and sounding the alarm about the growing risk of extreme weather events taking many lives, destroying local communities, and having a devastating impact on agricultural production in a warming world.

2025 was a historic year of change in international development, and the trend toward transforming the global food system continued unabated. JIRCAS also demonstrated its commitment through side events at the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Meeting and JIRCAS International Symposium.