4 September 2012: The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched the Chinese-language version of Fifth Global Environmental Outlook (GEO-5) at an event in Inner Mongolia, China, on 4 September 2012. Funding for the Chinese version was provided by the Elion Green Foundation.

According to UNEP, GEO-5 was a key text for negotiators at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (UNCSD, or Rio+20), informing a substantial part of the Rio+20 outcome document “The Future We Want.”

Key findings for China from GEO-5 include that: urban growth in China has exacerbated a decline in the availability of clean water by overwhelming the water supply and sanitation infrastructure; China and India will need to improve their annual production efficiency by about 2.9% and 2.2%, respectively, in order to reduce their environmental footprint; and transport-related emissions are expected to increase by 57% worldwide between 2005 and 2030, with China and India accounting for more than half. [UNEP Press Release (Chinese)] [IISD RS Sources]