The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) has published a report focusing on four emerging environmental issues: microbe reactivation in the cryosphere due to a warming climate; the impacts of dam and barrier removal on river restoration; environmental risks affecting older adults; and the role of floods in the remobilization and redistribution of chemical contaminants. The report pre-empts these challenges escalating into global or regional crises by offering potential solutions.
Titled, ‘Frontiers 2025: The Weight of Time: Facing a New Age of Challenges for People and Ecosystems,’ the report is part of UNEP’s Foresight Trajectory initiative, which spotlights environmental issues that may appear localized or small-scale, calling for early intervention to prevent them from becoming widespread challenges.
Currently in its seventh edition, the 2025 Frontiers report shows there are solutions “that can help protect communities and restore ecosystems long-thought to have been lost,” said UNEP Executive Director Inger Andersen.
The report warms that if global warming surpasses 2ºC above pre-industrial levels, the cryosphere, which includes glaciers, seasonal snow, ice sheets and shelves, sea ice, seasonally frozen ground, and permafrost, will significantly decrease in mass. This could reactivate dormant fungi, bacteria, and viruses, increasing the risk of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The report recommends:
- Reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including black carbon emissions from diesel engines, as well as emissions from open-field agricultural burning and wildfires;
- Limiting tourism in fragile frozen ecosystems; and
- Accelerating scientific research into those cryospheric microorganisms that will not survive the thawing of the cryosphere.
Another emerging threat is the risk of aging dams. While dams bring many benefits, they can also degrade ecosystems and harm Indigenous and fishing-dependent communities, according to the report. The report outlines potential benefits of the removal of unsafe, obsolete, or economically unviable dams and barriers, which is increasingly happening in Europe and North America. This, it argues, could help rebuild natural river connectivity by reversing river fragmentation and restore natural processes for biodiversity and ecosystems.
The report also calls attention to the ongoing demographic – and environmental – shifts. The global population aged 65 and older is projected to increase from 10% in 2024 to 16% by 2050, primarily in low-income countries (LICs) and middle-income countries (MICs), while climate change-enhanced environmental risks of heatwaves, air pollution, and floods, disproportionately threaten older adults who are vulnerable to heat-related health issues, including respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic diseases, as well as increased mortality. The report calls for prioritizing pollution-free, resilient, and accessible cities with expanded green spaces. Among key strategies, it highlights better urban planning, community-based disaster risk management (DRM), and improved access to climate information for older persons.
Finally, the report flags socioeconomic risks brought about by the remobilization by floods of chemicals contaminants that were banned and phased-out decades ago. “As floodwaters stir up sediment and debris, toxic chemicals may be released and re-enter urban areas or food systems,” a UNEP press release explains. The report recommends measures to reduce this increasing risk through: traditional control measures like polders, dikes, and retention basins; improved drainage systems; Nature-based Solutions (NbS) like sponge-city approaches; regular monitoring of pollutants in locations and products; and economic impact studies about this type of pollution.
The report was released on 10 July, ahead of the 2025 session of the UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF). Among the Goals undergoing in-depth review this year is SDG 3 (good health and well-being). [Publication: Frontiers 2025: The Weight of Time: Facing a New Age of Challenges for People and Ecosystems] [Publication Landing Page]