ABSTRACT
This book on the Global Environment Outlook (GEO) took the reader on a journey through the broad GEO landscape that has developed since the early 1990s. Our overall goal has been to document both the history of the process (or more correctly “processes,” since these have been manifold) and the vast array of products that have resulted and that could continue to result from it. Collectively, these processes and products represent a significant mark on the practice of integrated environmental assessment and reporting that peaked during the first decade of the new Millennium. What we refer to as the “I PCC-ization” of the global process that began with GEO-4, has led to the most recent GEOs being prepared in a very different way than the earlier GEOs. These changes in GEO involved significant tradeoffs. While GEO’s institutional setup and engagement with science became more aligned with the approach of other global assessments, its ability to influence the broader community of practice of integrated environmental assessment has taken a back seat. While it is not our intention to judge the GEOs’ relative quality or overall merit of the methods chosen, there are lessons to be learned in terms of the different paths taken.
