UNEP Year Book 2012: emerging issues in our global environment|UNEP Year Book 2013: Emerging Issues in our global environment

Abstract

As countries look forward to the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) in Brazil in June 2012, evidence of certain environmental trends continues to accumulate, including those related to climate change and its impacts, biodiversity loss, and degradation of land and soils. Enormous challenges remain with respect to addressing the underlying causes and impacts of such trends, although positive developments can be reported as well, for instance in the area of renewable energy technology uptake and investment. Key environmental indicators such as those presented in the UNEP Year Book help keep track of the state of the environment by providing a picture of the latest available data and trends.