New UNEP Frontiers Report on emerging environmental issues
The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Frontiers’ report examines the current emerging issues of environmental concern. The 2022 edition, Noise, Blazes and Mismatches?, looks at three concerns: urban soundscapes, wildfires and phenological shifts.
Chapter 1 examines city noise, drawing attention to noise pollution and its long-term physical and mental health impacts, along with measures that can be implemented to create positive and restorative soundscapes in urban areas. Chapter 2 investigates the role of climate change and human influence in the changing wildfire regimes around the world, the impacts of wildfires on the environment and human health, and the measures that can help to prevent, respond and build resilience to wildfires. Chapter 3 highlights how climate change is disrupting the life cycle patterns of plant and animal species, its consequences, and the need to address this issue by restoring ecological connectivity and biological diversity and most importantly, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Each of these three areas of concern have the potential for profound effects on our society, economy and ecosystems, and so effective and timely responses are needed to prevent them becoming an issue of regional or global concern if not addressed early. The Frontiers report therefore works to identify & draw attention to these emerging environmental issues that present distinct challenges and require tailored solutions.
Learn more in the full UNEP Frontiers 2022 report.
