Global Environment Outlook (GEO-6): Healthy Planet, Healthy People - Technical Summary

This technical summary synthesizes the key evidence and findings of the GEO-6 report, providing an integrated overview of the factors driving environmental change and the actions needed to achieve a healthier planet. Chapter 1 introduces the context, objectives, and methodological approach of the GEO-6 assessment. Chapter 2 examines the five major drivers influencing planetary health: population growth combined with economic development, increasing consumption, rapid urbanization, accelerating technological innovation, and climate change. Building on this foundation, Chapter 3 evaluates the impacts of broad systemic activities, referred to as cross-cutting issues, and explores their implications for environmental health, human health, social equity, and economic well-being. Together, these chapters present compelling evidence that the planet is becoming increasingly unhealthy. Chapter 4 reviews existing literature and presents case studies on policy implementation, demonstrating that current policies have not kept pace with the speed and scale of environmental degradation. Chapter 5 argues for transformative change by highlighting the strong interdependence between planetary health and human health, while Chapter 6 examines the evolving role of knowledge, data, and information systems in supporting evidence-based decision-making and promoting a healthy and sustainable planet. Full report is available at: https://wedocs.unep.org/handle/20.500.11822/27539