Even as glaciers worldwide are retreating, the use of biodiesel as a renewable energy has jumped 300,000 percent.
These are some of the mixed bag of trends observed in the past two decades and contained in a report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP).
The report – “Keeping Track of our Changing Environment: From Rio to Rio+20” – is produced as part of UNEP’s “Global Environmental Outlook-5” (GEO-5) series, the UN’s most authoritative assessment of the state, trends and outlook of the global environment.
The full GEO-5 report will be launched next May, one month ahead of the Rio+20 Conference taking place in Brazil.
“The indicator report gets us all back to basics, underlining the rapid buildup of greenhouse gases to the erosion of biodiversity and the 40 percent increase in the use of natural resources – faster than global population growth,” said UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner.
“The report also underlines how, when the world decides to act it can dramatically alter the trajectory of hazardous trends that threaten human well-being,” Steiner said, pointing to the phase-out of ozone damaging chemicals as a “spirited and powerful example.”
The data compiled by UNEP indicates that environmental target-setting works best for well-defined issues such as phasing out leaded gasoline or ozone-depleting substances.
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer used mandatory targets to phase-out the pollutants that were damaging the planet’s protective shield.
Over 90 percent of all ozone-depleting substances under the treaty were phased out between 1992 and 2009. Similarly, only a small number of countries still use leaded gasoline and they are expected to make the switch over the next year or two.
There are many silver linings as well in what remains a bleak future if nothing is done to ease climate change.
As the world’s population reaches 7 billion, urban population has grown by 45 percent since 1992.
The number of megacities with at least 10 million people has grown from 10 in 1992 to 21 last year – a 110 percent increase.
Yet, thanks to improved housing and sanitation, the percentage of slum dwellers has dropped from 46 percent in 1990 to a third in 2010.
By 2015 nearly 90 percent of the population in developing regions will have access to improved sources of drinking water, up from 77 percent in 1990.
Nearly all mountain glaciers around the world are retreating and getting thinner, with severe impacts on the environment and human well-being.
Diminishing glaciers not only influence current sea-level rise, but also threaten the well-being of approximately one-sixth of the world’s population.
Sea levels have been rising at an average rate of about 2.5 millimeters per year since 1992.
Global carbon dioxide emissions continue to rise due to increasing use of fossil fuels, with 80 percent of global emissions coming from just 19 countries.
Still, the amount of carbon dioxide per $1 GDP has dropped by 23 percent since 1992 underlining that some decoupling of economic growth from resource use is occurring.
Tracking energy trends since 1992, the report indicates that the contribution of renewable energy (including biomass) to the global energy supply stood at an estimated 16 percent in 2010.
While solar and wind energy accounted for only 0.3 percent of the total global energy, increased recognition of the need to move towards low carbon, resource efficient energy solutions can be seen in the 540 percent increase in investments in sustainable energy between 2004 and 2010.
Due to the decreasing prices of the technologies and adoption of new policies, growth in biodiesel as a renewable energy source has jumped 300,000 percent, use of solar energy has increased by nearly 30,000 per cent, wind by 6,000 percent and biofuels by 3,500 percent.
Trends
Despite the net reforestation now seen in Europe, North America and Asia and the Pacific, ongoing forest loss in Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean means that the global forest area has decreased by 300 million hectares since 1990.
The annual 20 percent rise in the number of forests receiving certificates for sustainable forestry practices shows that consumers are exerting influence on timber production. However, only around 10 percent of global forests are under certified sustainable management.
A growing percentage of the world’s forests are one that have been replanted – an area equaling the size of a country like Tanzania.
Food production has risen by 45 percent since 1992.
The increased yields are heavily reliant on the use of fertilizers, which as well as enriching soil fertility, can also have a negative impact on the environment such as algal blooms in inland and marine waters.
Because of consumer demand, organic products and eco-labeling are growing. Land used for organic farming is growing at an annual rate of 13 per cent.
While the number of tanker oil spills recorded has declined in 20 years, there is a growing concern that the oceans are becoming more acidic.
This could have significant consequences on marine organisms which may alter species composition, disrupt marine food webs and potentially damage fishing and tourism activities.
Eco-tourism is growing three times faster than traditional mass-tourism. On the other hand, biodiversity has declined by 12 percent at the global level and by 30 percent in the tropics.
The UNEP report notes that many environmental issues, which were only emerging in 1992, are now firmly part of mainstream policymaking in many countries.
New multilateral environmental agreements and conventions have been established or entered into force to address emerging global environmental issues.
Carbon trading has put a monetary value on greenhouse gas emissions. Recycling, or processing waste into new resources, is becoming policy and practice in many countries.
