At the fourth session of the UN Environment Assembly (UNEA-4) the sixth Global Environment Outlook (GEO) and its accompanying Summary for Policymakers were welcomed with appreciation by Member States. Countries also discussed extensively how the Global Environment Outlook process and publication could be further improved. To meet this goal, countries decided to request the Executive Director of UN Environment, through a resolution, develops an options paper and conduct extensive consultation on these options in order to deliver recommendations on the future of GEO at the fifth UN Environment Assembly.
In requesting this options document, countries decided that the process should be overseen and managed by a Steering Committee established under the auspices of UNEA and pursuant to well-defined Terms of References. Members of the Steering Committee were to be nominated by Member States and all members of UN specialized agencies by May 30th, 2019 and were to be approved by the Committee of Permanent Representatives. The options document should be submitted by the Steering Committee to the UNEA-5 for consideration, to allow a decision on the future form and function of the GEO.