The planet has entered “uncharted territory” marked by accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss, land degradation and pollution, the United Nations warned Tuesday in a sweeping new environmental assessment that says decisive global action could still unlock vast economic and social benefits.
Released in Nairobi, the Global Environment Outlook-7 (GEO-7) paints a stark picture of a world already experiencing profound ecological disruption. The report warns that the four crises are now so deeply interconnected that they can no longer be tackled in isolation.
According to the assessment, the world loses 100 million hectares of healthy land every year through erosion, overuse or deforestation, an area roughly the size of Colombia or Ethiopia. Nearly 60 percent of the planet’s land surface is under moderate or severe human pressure, while up to 40 percent is degraded, driving food insecurity and heightening vulnerability to climate shocks.
“The Global Environment Outlook lays out a simple choice for humanity: continue down the road to a future devastated by climate change, dwindling nature, degraded land and polluted air, or change direction to secure a healthy planet, healthy people and healthy economies. This is no choice at all,” UNEP chief Inger Andersen said at the report’s launch.
Biodiversity loss is accelerating, with one million species facing extinction and coral reefs and fisheries in steep decline. Pollution is rising sharply as well: the world generates more than 2 billion tonnes of waste annually, a figure expected to nearly double by 2050 — while plastics contaminate every ecosystem on Earth. Air pollution kills millions each year, with nine out of ten people breathing air above WHO safety limits.
The report traces the crisis to surging global consumption, which has quadrupled per person since 1960, and rapid urbanization. By 2050, nearly 70 percent of people will live in cities, increasing pressure on land, energy and water systems.
The economic consequences are vast. Climate disasters already cause trillions of dollars in damage, while extreme heat is eroding global working hours. Loss of ecosystem services, fertile soil, clean water, pollination, could cost up to US$44 trillion annually. Continuing on today’s trajectory could inflict more than US$100 trillion in yearly losses by 2100, the report warns.
But the GEO-7 also offers an optimistic scenario. It says that a rapid transformation across five key systems, energy, food, materials and waste, finance, and environmental governance, could still place the world on track to meet international goals.
Two pathways are outlined: one driven by technological breakthroughs in clean energy, electric mobility and advanced recycling; the other by major shifts in societal behaviour, including sustainable diets and reduced consumption. Both require strong political leadership and global cooperation.
The cost of this transformation, peaking at about 1.5 percent of global GDP, would be dwarfed by the benefits, the report argues. By 2070, avoiding climate damage could save around US$20 trillion annually, rising to over US$100 trillion by the end of the century.
The authors stress that equity must be at the centre of any transition. High-income countries must curb excessive consumption and provide finance and technology to developing nations, while Indigenous knowledge should guide environmental decision-making.
Earth has already warmed by more than 1.3°C since the industrial era, with 2023 and 2024 confirmed as the hottest years on record. Scientists warn the world is nearing dangerous “tipping points” such as irreversible ice-sheet loss and Amazon forest dieback. Current policies could push temperatures to between 2.4°C and 3.9°C this century far above the Paris Agreement target.
Despite the dire warnings, the UN says solutions already exist. What is missing, it concludes, is political will and recognition that the cost of inaction will be far higher than acting now.
“The future is still a choice,” the report says. “But the window for choosing well is rapidly closing.”
