The report, entitled “Navigating New Horizons: A Global Foresight Report on Planetary Health and Human Well-being,” seeks to draw attention to a number of emerging challenges that might disrupt humanity.

The document was prepared by the UN Environment Program (UNEP) and mentions eight critical global changes “that are accelerating the triple planetary crisis of climate change, the loss of biodiversity and nature, and pollution and waste.”

According to UNEP, hundreds of global experts identified 18 signs of change that offer insight into potential disruptions, both positive and negative, that the world should closely monitor. Among the most critical ones, the document identifies the scarcity of resources and competition that reconfigure the dynamics of global security.

As a consequence, a 400-percent increase in demand for critical minerals is expected in the next 15 years, which may threaten biodiversity in pristine lands.

The report also warns of an increase in armed conflicts, violence and misinformation along with the persistence and expansion of inequalities and massive forced displacements as a result of conflicts, extreme climate phenomena and environmental impacts.

In response, the report proposes better decision-making through the creation of a new social contract, the adoption of agile and adaptive governance and the increase in integrated and accessible data and knowledge, which in the opinion of the organization is a harsh reminder of the interconnectivity and fragility of systems in the 21st century.

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