UN University urges addressing root causes of environmental challenges

ISTANBUL

Humanity must shift focus from managing the symptoms of environmental crises to tackling their root causes by fundamentally changing societal values, assumptions, and structures, a UN University report said on Wednesday.

The 2025 Interconnected Disaster Risks report, Turning Over a New Leaf, prepared by the Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), critiques current approaches as often being "superficial fixes."

Instead of primarily asking how to recycle more plastic bags, society should prioritize reducing plastic use altogether, the report suggests.

Similarly, rather than focusing solely on mitigating the consequences of global warming – like experimental atmospheric cooling – the priority must be addressing its cause, namely drastically cutting fossil fuel consumption.

"We cannot expect real change unless we explore the reasons behind our actions and question why we are doing what we are doing," the report said. It argues that many well-intentioned efforts, like recycling, only help "to a certain extent if we continue to produce ever-increasing volumes of garbage."

Addressing root causes

The report contended that decades of warnings about climate change and biodiversity loss have yielded insufficient progress because efforts often only aim to prevent the worst outcomes, rather than actively creating a desirable future.

To achieve meaningful progress, the report proposed applying a Theory of Deep Change. This framework emphasizes targeting the underlying assumptions and structures guiding society, rather than merely altering the outcomes of existing systems.

The report said real transformation requires combining "inner levers" – fundamental shifts in mindset, such as viewing humanity as interconnected and responsible for planetary well-being – with "outer levers," which include systemic changes like international governance, policy shifts, and education reform.

Individual, systemic action needed

The report calls for societies to rethink waste toward a circular economy valuing durability and reuse; realign humanity's relationship with nature away from separation and superiority, reconsider responsibility by shifting from individualistic views to collective action, reimagine the future with long-term perspectives, and redefine value away from purely economic wealth toward planetary health.

Changing individual mindsets -- moving away from constant consumption and the "new is always better" attitude -- is crucial, but must be supported by systemic government action, the report concluded.

By addressing issues "at the root," societies can transform interconnected risks into opportunities, it said.