Part VII of the Special Series for Global Organization and Function: a collaboration between WGI.WORLD (World Geostrategic Insights) and CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security).
By Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea-U.S. Political Development), Washington DC.
Now, no one in the world is totally free from the upcoming disaster caused by the natural environment and its dreadful sequence like the Fukushima tsunami in 2011 and California wildfire in 2025. Such horrible environmental disasters dilapidated not only human life but also incapacitated government system. Many countries struggle to recover economic damage, and relieve victims and devastated nature back to normal with a giant amount of national budget.
For example, Japan’s initial economic loss caused by the Fukushima tsunami was $500 billion so that it finally released polluted water as contaminating the ocean without affording subsequent expenditure. As a result, the global ecosystem has been severely deteriorated and an additional humongous amount of extra budget counts on the global society as long as environmental pollution goes through everywhere. As well, LA was completely burned up with an economic loss of $250 billion, including luxury houses and properties around Hollywood. Wildfire was a ghastly monster worser than hurricane Katrina which shortly swept away $125 billion in 2005.
The world has been facing a triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity and ecosystem loss, and pollution that bring environmental disasters and furthermore, putting global economic and social well-being at risk. For the last 40 years, flood is the top first with a total 71% among the most frequent natural disasters on the Earth, followed by storms such as typhoons, cyclones, hurricanes, or tsunamis. Earthquakes, landslides, drought, extreme temperate, and wildfire would also come up as a colossal disaster. Flood and drought heavily impact agriculture, and three million people in North Korea died of starvation over a three-year period in the 1990s. Sometimes, earthquakes and flood tides break out simultaneously, like the Fukushima tsunami.
In 2024, the global society experienced the worst environmental disaster: the global average temperature rose to 1.55°C since the Industrial Revolution period, 1850-1900. According to the World Meteorological Organization(WMO), it was the highest temperature among 175 years that the surface temperature of the Earth has been observed. It surely broke the Paris Agreement in 2015 to limit average temperature rising to under 1.5°C.
In addition, variable climate change indicators have surprisingly broken the former records. For example, carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere was 422 ppm in 2024, which rose to 151% above pre-Industrial levels. It was the highest record for 80 years and moreover, sea level has been rising continuously. The average surface level of the sea was also reported as the highest point since satellite observation started in 1993. As a result, worldwide economic loss due to natural disasters was $417 billion as it increased 15% over the past average for 10 years. Unfortunately, most insurance companies didn’t pay 63% of the overall amount.
The UNEP’s Mission and Goal
Professor Adrien Bilal at Harvard and Diego Kaenzig at Northeastern presented their research paper that economic influence due to global warming is much higher than expected. Whenever the global temperature increases 1 degree, the world GDP decreases 12%. If many countries continue to use fossil fuel and the global temperature rises 3 degrees until 2100, world production, consumption, and resources will rapidly fall by over 50%. As well, 1.2 billion people among the global population will be severely exposed to danger by climate change.
The 2024 Annual Report of the World Bank Group(WBG) shows that impoverished countries face the biggest dilemmas of climate disaster such as heatwave, flood, hurricane, and drought. In particular, low latitude countries would be seriously damaged by sea-level rise and flood. The WMO also reported that one million people in the world lost their houses and became victims of extremely abnormal weather with the biggest number after 2008. Total 150 events related to climate disasters broke out: 6 typhoons in the Philippines landed serially for a month and floods and landslides caused by torrential rain swept away Italy.
The United Nations Environment Program(UNEP) founded in June 1972 is a leading global authority to inspire, inform, and enable countries and peoples to improve environmental sustainability. As the practical process, it supports 193 member states to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) which ensure the well-being and prosperity of both people and planet through cutting-edge science, coordination and advocacy. The SDGs were voluntarily adopted by all the UN member states in 2015 to end poverty, reduce inequality and build more peaceful, prosperous societies by 2030.
The UNEP’s core mission is to find solutions to the triple planetary crisis which is weighing most heavily on the vulnerable, including the poor, women and indigenous peoples. It helps member states to foster climate stability, live in harmony with nature, and forge a pollution-free future by supporting the achievement of all 17 SDGs. They are mainly composed of no poverty, zero hunger, good health and well-being, followed by clean water and sanitation, affordable and clean energy, sustainable cities and communities, and climate action. Furthermore, the UNEP assists countries transition to low-carbon and resource-efficient economies by strengthening environmental governance and law, safeguarding ecosystems, and providing evidence-based data to inform policy decisions.
The Medium-Term Strategy (MTS) outlines the UNEP’s vision for people and the planet how it strengthens the environmental dimension of the 2030 SDGs Agenda during the period 2022-2025. Recognizing the complexity and interconnectedness of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, the MTS manages seven interlinked subprograms for action: Climate Action, Chemicals and Pollutants Action, Nature Action, Science Policy, Environmental Governance, Finance and Economic Transformations, and Digital Transformations. With a 2050 outlook on planetary sustainability for people, prosperity and equity, the UNEP also supports countries to deliver their environmental commitments under international agreements. It ensures that environmental rule of law continues to underpin global environmental governance, and boosts strong efforts to use digital technologies for inclusive, transparent, and innovative outcomes.
Natural Disaster and Environmental Emergency
Many people die of natural disasters from earthquakes and storms to floods and droughts, killing approximately 40,000 to 50,000 people per year. However, any single disaster can have an extremely large impact on millions of people who are displaced or left homeless each year. As well, overwhelming economic costs would exhaust the government budget as well as national competitiveness that it usually happens in lower-income countries.
Mutangana Emmanuel in Top African News selected top 7 emergent environmental threats of 2025, seriously warning the human society. For example, the climate crisis has many factors that play a critical role in the exacerbation of the environment and need immediate action.
First, global warming from fossil fuels is a fundamental factor of climate change. In 2024, global fossil fuel CO2 emissions hit 37.4 billion tons with 422 ppm, up 0.8% from 2023 as coal, oil, and gas contributed 41%, 32%, and 21% respectively. China absolutely led emissions at 32%, followed by the U.S. (13%), India (8%), and the EU (7%). This emergency needs for an accelerated climate action to mitigate global carbon emissions.
The climate crisis causes the biggest threat as greenhouse gas emissions trap heat, propelling global warming that 2024 was recorded as the hottest year with the hottest Summer in history. It has brought severe consequences, including devastating bushfires in Australia and the U.S., locust infestations across Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, and a historic Antarctic heatwave. Scientists also warn of tipping points like Arctic permafrost melt, rapid Greenland ice sheet loss and Amazon deforestation. Immediate action to prevent catastrophic effects can reduce emissions and phase out fossil fuels by substituting renewable energy.
Second, it is global governance related to fossil fuel dependence. Environmentalists emphasize higher cost related to greenhouse gas-emitting activities through carbon taxes. Governments must also boost green innovation funding to cut emissions effectively. 27 countries such as Sweden, Canada, and Japan have adopted carbon taxes so far that Sweden’s tax $127 per ton reduced emissions by 25% since 1995 while growing its economy by 75%.
Unfortunately, the United Nations wouldn’t properly handle the climate crisis as its structure was originally designed to prevent war, far from climate action. As well, its agreements similar to the Paris Agreement, just count for voluntary participation without penalties for non-compliance. Even though the Paris agreement aims to limit global warming to below 2°C, it lacks an enforceable system like the UNEP’s agreements. Furthemore, as long as equity issues persist as allowing developing countries more emissions to advance technologically such as China, they will continuously exploit these allowances.
Third, it is biodiversity loss while depleting Earth’s resources caused by rapidly increased human activity. A 2020 World Wildlife Fund(WWF) Report revealed a 68% decline in wildlife populations from 1970 to 2016, primarily due to habitat loss and illegal wildlife trade. While the sixth mass extinction in our time is accelerating, over 500 species of land animals are subject to an imminent extinction within 20 years. Climate change is also threatening species like emperor penguins and populations in Antarctica might annihilate potentially by 2100.
Fourth, it is serious deforestation that only 10% of Earth’s forests may remain by 2030. Forests with the size of 300 football fields are destroyed per hour and Brazil, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Indonesia would be the main countries. The forests of the Amazon area have been a vital place for biodiversity and carbon storage, preventing soil erosion. Nonetheless, legal deforestation continues to threaten their survival and immediate recovery. The world has been chopping down 10 million hectares of trees every year to grow crops and livestock and moreover, produce materials such as paper or lumber.
Fifth, it is air pollution, causing an estimated 4.2 to 7 million deaths annually. According to the World Health Organization(WHO) research in 2023, air pollution-related deaths rose from 164,000 in 1990 to 258,000 in Africa. They mainly come from industrial activities, motor vehicles, biomass burning, and dust storms. High air pollution levels reduce life expectancy by five years in South Asia. Many countries in Asia and Africa lack air quality standards, contributing to 92.7% of global life years lost. As well, the European Environment Agency(EEA) showed that over half a million deaths in Europe were linked to toxic pollutants.
Sixth, it is melting ice caps and sea-level rise. Antarctica has lost approximately 7.5 trillion tons of ice since 1997. Currently, the Arctic is warming up over twice as fast as the rest of the planet, causing sea levels to rise twice as fast as in the 20th century. Sea levels have been increasing by an average of 3.2 mm annually and could rise by 0.7 meters by 2100. If the entire Greenland ice sheet melts, global sea levels will rise by 6 meters. They could flood coastal areas, displacing 340 to 480 million people by the 21st century’s end. Not only Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Manila, and Dubai but also New York might completely sink at high risk.
Seventh, it is food and water insecurity. Rising temperatures and unsustainable agriculture are exacerbating water and food insecurity globally. Over 68 billion tons of topsoil are fading out annually, at 100 times faster than natural replenishment. Such soil contaminated with biocides ends up polluting water sources to devastate agriculture and finally destroy the food system. According to the FAO of the UN, global food demand is expected to rise up to 70% by 2050 but over 820 million people already starve. UN Secretary-General António Guterres seriously warns, unless immediate action is taken, a food security emergency will come across the global society. Additionally, with only 3% of Earth’s water being freshwater, 1.1 billion people lack access to clean water, and two-thirds of the world might face water shortages by 2025.
Sustainable Governance and Environmental Policy
The UNEP has addressed environmental challenges through the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA), decision-making body in the world’s highest-level on the environment. By setting up the global environmental agenda, the UNEP provides policy responses to cope with emerging environmental crises. As well, it undertakes the strategic guidance on the future direction and fosters partnership for achieving environmental goals and policy mobilization.
The UNEP has supported sustainable governance through core actions to enforce environmental policies and strategies. It accesses the important linkages by collaborating with each other for practical outcomes as below.
First, it is ‘climate action’ to support finance mechanisms and aid countries in adaptation and mitigation efforts. The UNEP provides evidence-based data to inform policy decisions and collaborates with sectors for low-carbon transitions. The world is in a climate emergency which would induce catastrophic consequences for life on this planet. Global warming might pass 2.9°C sooner or later, unless greenhouse gas emissions fall in a miracle stage.
The UNEP takes a four-pronged step to handle the climate crisis and reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement; cutting-edge research to support science-based decision-making; the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future; a carbon-neutral world; sustainable mechanisms to mitigate climate change.
Second, it is ‘nature action’ to maintain nature’s contributions to people and sustain a healthy planet. The UNEP delivers science-based solutions to prevent, halt, and reverse the decline of nature and foster sustainable development. Such a dangerous decline by devastating nature globally is exacerbating the climate crisis while propelling food and water insecurity. It results in putting not only human society but also planetary stability at risk.
Nonetheless, it is very prospective to reverse the trajectory of nature loss. Transformational change is achievable if the global society acts decisively through a whole-of-government, or whole-of-society from local communities to global initiatives. The UNEP is fostering harmony with nature in alignment with the Global Biodiversity Framework(GBF), leveraging the integrity of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine ecosystems toward a sustainable future.
Third, it is ‘chemicals and pollution action’ to minimize the adverse effects on human health and the environment. Pollution jeopardizes ecosystems and human health through air, soil, water or massive waste, exposing to harmful chemicals. By 2025, the world’s cities will produce 2.2 billion tons of waste every year, more than three times in 2009.
The UNEP promotes joint approaches that demonstrate the economic, environmental and health advantages of sound chemicals and waste management. It encourages policies and investments to reduce risks from chemicals to both health and the environment with Global Framework on Chemicals for a planet free of harm from chemicals and waste.
The UNEP has also supported countries in developing, implanting strong environmental laws that robust legal and institutional frameworks for a healthy people and planet. Such laws effectively work as pillars to resolve issues between the environment, social dynamics, and economic dimensions. Within the environmental subprogram, the UNEP also collaborates with governments, UN institutions, and Multilateral Environmental Agreements(MEAs).
Especially, environmental rule of law is central to sustainable development, providing the basis for ensuring legal frameworks and improving environmental governance. It highlights environmental sustainability by connecting it with fundamental rights and obligations, reflecting universal moral values and ethical norms of behavior.
Environmental Prosperity and Global Vision
Professor Robert Costanza at UCL defines prosperity, people and planet in a category, focusing on planet as an integrated, complex system. In particular, he has worked on understanding, modelling, and valuing natural capital and the ecosystem benefits. They obviously contribute to sustainable human well-being, far exceeding marketed goods and services measured by GDP. He also created the concept of integrated well-being between humans and nature as a shared vision of a world and how to get there.
Since the human society went together with the natural world, environmental influence would have two critical factors of prosperity and extinction. Especially, three interconnected crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution have been putting global economic and social well-being at risk by humongous environmental disasters. Furthermore, even though the Earth has been the best place for over 8 billion people, resources and opportunities are unfairly distributed. The poorest countries contribute the least to carbon emissions but suffer the most from climate change. On the contrary, the wealthier countries are considered as the biggest polluters but mostly avoid responsibility. To prevent such inequality and injustice, the global society should achieve fair, collective solutions for all.
Therefore, environmental prosperity should be resilient in both human society and nature for a more sustainable future. When a genuine harmony, restoration and respect at the core relationship with the Earth become a global vision, people and the planet will go together toward a better future through systemic transformation and collaboration.
Even though human society would face rapidly growing environmental, social and economic challenges, the UNEP has successfully conducted its mission to replenish a thriving world through variable achievements. Free from all the risks for a healthier planet and a fairer future, the UNEP will continue to produce such a global vision that human society will reach the ultimate stage waiting for environmental prosperity.
Author: Sunny Lee – Founder and President at CGPS (Center for Global Peace and Security), and Director at IKUPD (Institute for Korea – U.S. Political Development), Washington DC. Sunny Lee is the author of 115 academic books in politics (original English and in German, French, Russian, Polish, Dutch, Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese). She is a bestseller writer not only in politics but also in literature on Amazon. Her recent book is titled: “The Influence on Humankind’s Peace through Korean Reunification: Creating new paradigm in social science by interdisciplinary research.”
(The opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of World Geostrategic Insights).
Image Source: UNEP United Nations Environment Programm