Comparing and contrasting two United Nations Environment Programme reports on COVID-19

Abstract

In 2022 a report was published by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) into the causes and implications of the pandemic. This adds to an earlier UNEP report into the pandemic. Each of these reports identifies a small number of important drivers for zoonotic emergence. While the two reports substantially agree, there are also some divergences, the discussion of which is the main purpose of this letter. Each report agrees that the farming of livestock to supply meat and other animal products is an underlying driver of potential zoonotic spillover. The chief difference between these reports, with regard to this aspect, concerns the word “protein”. The other important difference is that the later report identifies a potential role of laboratory and medical procedures contributing to zoonotic outbreaks and even to pandemics. Each of these differences are described. The letter concludes by discussing a recent WHO report that also warns of the risk of viral manipulation, and argues that this is an emerging topic relevant to One Health.