Navigating New Horizons Report 2024

Published on 08 Apr 2025

•  The United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the International Science Council (ISC) released “Navigating New Horizons – A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Wellbeing.”
• The report highlights accelerating global crises—climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution—and warns of a looming ‘polycrisis,’ where these issues amplify and synchronise. 
• Key findings include:
• Displacement: 1.5% of the global population, or 1 in 69 people, is forcibly displaced.
• Critical Minerals: Demand for clean energy technologies could significantly impact biodiversity.
• AI Risks: AI may recommend pro-escalation tactics in conflicts, and AI-driven autonomous weapons could disrupt the global environment in the next 4-6 years.
• Synthetic Biology: AI and synthetic biology could lead to new biological weapons.
• Extreme Weather: Events like wildfires, heatwaves, and floods cause displacement, food shortages, and eco-anxiety. 

Keywords:

Climate change Biodiversity Conservation Pollution UNEP Air pollution Global warming