Prof Paul Ekins appointed Co-Chair of UN's Global Environment Outlook report (GEO-6)

Prof Paul Ekins OBE, Director of UCL ISR, has today been appointed as Co-Chair of UNEP’s ‘Global Environment Outlook’ report (GEO-6), the world’s most comprehensive assessment of the state of the global environment.

The assessment, produced by UN Environment in response to a request by Member States, provides policy makers with trends and projections for air, climate, water, land and biodiversity and an outlook for the future. It demonstrates the interactions between social, economic and environmental drivers, assessing how different policy options may move us to a more sustainable world in the near to longer term.

Prof Ekins will provide leadership and guidance in the areas of green economy and green growth, sustainable resource use, energy and environmental policy. His Co-Chair, Prof Gupta, Professor of Environment and Development at the University of Amsterdam, will lead in the areas of environmental sustainability, inclusive development and governance.

UN Environment Chief Scientist, Jacqueline McGlade, said, “I am pleased to announce that two of the world’s most eminent scientists, Prof Gupta and Prof Ekins, have agreed to lead the production of the world’s most comprehensive environmental assessment.

In accepting the co-chair role, Prof Ekins said: “It is a huge privilege and responsibility to be invited to co-chair the production of GEO-6. In this report I will seek to highlight the opportunities for economic growth and increased human welfare that will arise from addressing today’s local and global environmental challenges.”

“I hope that this report will assemble and compellingly present the evidence that people at all stages of development stand to gain enormously from the implementation of economically efficient environmental policies, and that these policies will be essential in enabling the global community to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which it endorsed in 2015,” he added.

A new GEO 6 website is now online. It provides information on the GEO 6 process and activities. It also provides access to regional assessments and other resources.