The sixth edition of the Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6) from the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) on the theme “Healthy Planet, Healthy People” was released recently. It painted a dire picture of a planet where environmental problems interact with each other to make things even more dangerous for people. The report concludes ‘unsustainable human activities globally have degraded the Earth’s ecosystems, endangering the ecological foundations of society.‘ The report details climate change impacts on human health, air, water, land and biodiversity.

Body:

Key highlights of the report:

• Premature deaths:
  • A quarter of all premature deaths and diseases worldwide are due to manmade pollution and environmental damage.
  • Deadly emissions, chemicals polluting drinking water, and the accelerating destruction of ecosystems crucial to the livelihoods of billions of people are driving a worldwide epidemic that hampers the global economy.
• Rising Inequality:
  • There is a growing chasm between rich and poor countries as rampant overconsumption, pollution and food waste in the developed world leads to hunger, poverty and disease elsewhere.
  • The top 10% of populations globally, in terms of wealth, are responsible for 45% of GHG emissions, and the bottom 50% for only 13%.
  • Pollution impacts are, however, borne more by the poorer citizens.
• Health:
  • Poor environmental conditions cause approximately 25% of global disease and mortality, with around 9 million deaths in 2015 alone.
  • Nearly 1.4 million people die each year from preventable diseases with lack of access to clean drinking supplies. For instance, diarrhoea and parasites linked to pathogen-riddled water and poor sanitation
  • Air pollution alone causes 6-7 million early deaths annually.
  • Unchecked use of antibiotics in food production will result in drug-resistant superbugs becoming the world’s number one cause of premature death by mid-century.
• Food Waste
  • Thirty-three percent of edible food is wasted worldwide, with more than half thrown out in industrialized nations, the report says.
  • Food waste for instance, which accounts for 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, could be slashed.
• Species Extinction
  • Land degradation through mega-farming and deforestation occurs in areas of Earth which are home to 3.2 billion people.
  • Species extinction rates also continue to increase at a pace that could compromise Earth’s ability to meet human needs, the report says.
  • Among invertebrates, 42% of land dwellers, 34% of freshwater species and 25% of marine species are at risk of extinction.

Impacts:

• As greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise amid a preponderance of droughts, floods and super storms made worse by climbing sea levels, there is a growing political consensus that climate change poses a future risk to billions.
• But the health impacts of pollution, deforestation and the mechanised food-chain are less well understood. Nor is there any international agreement for the environment close to covering what the 2015 Paris accord does for climate.
• Poor environmental conditions “cause approximately 25% of global disease and mortality” — around 9 million deaths in 2015 alone.
• Lacking access to clean drinking supplies, 1.4 million people die each year from preventable diseases such as diarrhoea and parasites linked to pathogen-riddled water and poor sanitation.
• Chemicals pumped into the seas cause “potentially multi-generational” adverse health effects, and land degradation through mega-farming and deforestation occurs in areas of Earth home to 3.2 billion people.
• Species extinction rates also continue to increase at a pace that could compromise Earth’s ability to meet human needs, the report says.

Way forward:

• It encourages policy-makers to recognise that global or regional action is often essential due to the trans-boundary nature of many environmental problems.
• There is an urgent need for retooling of the global economy to more sustainable production lines.
• Urgent action at an unprecedented scale is necessary to arrest and reverse the present environment situation.
• The report called for a root-and-branch detoxifying of human behaviour while insisting that the situation is not unassailable.
• Food waste for instance, which accounts for 9% of global greenhouse gas emissions, could be slashed. The world currently throws away a third of all food produced. In richer nations, 56% goes to waste.
• The report also advises adopting less-meat intensive diets.
• It also called for a rapid drawdown in greenhouse gas emissions and pesticide use to improve air and water quality.

Way forward for India:

• Every other international environmental report showed that India will be the most hit due to climate change.
• Now, the GEO report on environmental damage causing health emergencies is another thing that the country should worry due to its burgeoning population and weak public healthcare sector.
• By emphasising on “synergies” between “the efforts to meet climate change targets and policies to reduce air pollution, this is particularly significant for India, whose Paris Climate Treaty commitments rely heavily on a shift to renewable energy (RE).
• Steps like India Clean Air Program (ICAP), Ayushman Bharat should be strengthened to tackle the challenges arising.
• More steps are needed to be taken by the policy makers to rapidly reduce emissions in the country.
• Effective policies must be brought out to reduce over-consumption in the country and promote sustainable ways of living.

Conclusion:

The Global Environment Outlook should be seen as a call for such creativity by breaking down the silos in environmental policy-making. GEO came at the right time to awaken the world to take effective steps in tackling the environmental issues which has become an existential question for the mankind.