10 of the biggest environmental issues of 2026

And while these challenges affect everyone, they rarely do so equally. When floods destroy crops or fuel prices surge or water becomes scarce, it’s usually the communities with the fewest resources that are hit the hardest. Families already living in poverty fall further behind and are unable to catch up. 

As a result, environmental issues are no longer separate from humanitarian aid and development work. In many cases, such as the 10 below, they’re at the centre of it. 

Extreme weather events and climate disasters are becoming more frequent and more destructive, and they’re key forces in destabilising entire systems. 

Greenhouse gases and F-gases – including carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gases found in products like LED lights – trap heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. Some of these gases occur naturally. The problem is that human and industrial activity have dramatically increased their concentration, creating what is essentially a giant atmospheric heat trap. 

The consequence of this heat trap is that everything becomes more unpredictable and precarious: Heatwaves become more intense, rainy seasons fail, droughts last longer, and flooding becomes more severe. These disasters become some of the biggest maintainers and causes of poverty, leading to crop failures, hunger and food insecurity, water scarcity, outbreaks of disease, conflict over increasingly-scarce resources, and forced displacement and migration. 

Modern economies still run largely on fossil fuels like coal, oil, and natural gas. They power transport systems, electricity grids, heating systems, and industries around the world. The SEAI estimates that 93% of Ireland’s transport energy comes from fossil fuels – as does 84% of the country’s total energy supply.

However, the greenhouse gas emissions from these fuels places pressure on both the atmosphere and already vulnerable communities. We notice this the most when fuel prices fluctuate, leaving us with higher heating bills and petrol prices. And for many people in Ireland, energy insecurity and supply disruptions aren’t just an abstract concept; they’re challenges within living memory. 

These challenges also disproportionately affect lower-income communities, increasing the cost of essentials like food and transportation while also placing stress on healthcare, water, and public infrastructure systems. 

The classic image of air pollution is one of big cities: traffic jams, smog, and smoke. And while it’s true that cities are a major source of air pollution, that doesn’t leave rural and peri-urban communities in the clear. 

In fact, according to the World Health Organisation, 99% of the global population breathes air that exceeds guideline limits for pollutants, with low- and middle-income countries facing the highest levels of exposure. Those pollutants can come from traffic and industry, but they can also come from cooking fires, indoor smoke, and agricultural practices like burning off crop residue after harvests (an especially common practice in rice paddies). 

The effects are also the same, regardless of the inputs, with increased risk for respiratory disease, heart disease, and other long-term health complications. 

Access to clean water and adequate sanitation remains a major global environmental issue with a host of repercussions. According to the latest UN data, 2.1 billion people still lack access to safely-managed drinking water, while 3.4 billion people are without safely-managed sanitation services. 

Without reliable access to clean water, almost every other development challenge becomes harder to solve, and that’s a major issue as half of the global population has either poor or no access to adequate water, sanitation, and hygiene services (collectively known as WASH). This increases the risk of disease, disrupts educations, weakens nutritional outcomes, and compromises livelihoods. It also places a disproportionate burden on women and girls, who are often responsible for collecting water in many communities.

» Learn more about the global water crisis, what’s causing it, who’s most affected, and what solutions are currently in place

Modern agriculture has become extremely productive – but often at a cost. Around the world, food systems are becoming less sustainable and more fragile. Many countries have become increasingly dependent on food imports, while intensive farming practices are placing growing strain on land, water, and ecosystems. This becomes especially dangerous during climate disasters or conflict, when supply chains are disrupted and food prices spike rapidly.

Many farming systems also rely heavily on synthetic fertilisers to increase harvests. While these can improve short-term productivity, overuse contributes to nitrous oxide emissions and water pollution. At the same time, crops themselves are becoming more vulnerable to droughts, floods, and other extreme weather events.

Food production is critical, especially in the face of increasing levels of global hunger. This is why more resilient approaches like Climate Smart Agriculture are critical for protecting ecosystems while ensuring that livelihoods and food security can be maintained and improved. 

We may take them for granted, but trees quietly do one of the most important jobs on Earth: They absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, with a single mature tree able to absorb as much as 21kg of CO2 each year. That means a hectare of forest can offset the annual emissions of the average car’s annual mileage. 

The problem is that forests are disappearing around the world at an alarming rate. Logging, land clearing, and slash-and-burn farming methods have all contributed to ecosystem loss and land degradation. And when trees are cut down, the carbon they have stored is released back into the atmosphere. 

This creates a double problem: fewer trees absorbing carbon, and more carbon being released. Since 1990, the global forest has shrunk by over 80 million hectares. While 61 countries pledged to restore 170 million hectares of degraded forests by 2030, progress has been slow – and time matters. 

One of the reasons synthetic fertilisers have become popular is that soil quality has gone down. Deforestation, drought, overfarming, and poor land management have all created poorer soil conditions, which is a problem given how much work it does: Soil helps grow food, retain water, support ecosystems, and absorb roughly 30% of carbon emissions. 

The UN estimates that 40% of the world’s soil is degraded, making it virtually unusable, and the consequences of this have been catastrophic for many. In the Horn of Africa, repeated droughts over the last decade have contributed to some of the highest levels of hunger in the world, as well as major water shortages, rising poverty levels, and mass displacement. 

Globally, land degradation is estimated to cost $40 trillion USD in ecosystem services each year – roughly half of the global GDP. The good news is that land restoration is one of the clearest examples of prevention being cheaper than response: Investing in proven methods of restoration could generate up to $140 trillion USD in savings – an ROI of roughly 250%. 

Our world runs on biodiversity. It supports food systems, clean water, healthy ecosystems, and many industries. The World Economic Forum estimates that half of the global GDP depends on nature. We also rely on healthy ecosystems to protect our homes and resources (especially during floods, droughts, and other disasters). 

In 2026, however, our global biological diversity is under threat from climate change, deforestation, land degradation, and pollution. As ecosystems become less stable, many plant and animal species face shrinking habitats and a growing risk of extinction. Pollinators die out, fisheries weaken, and forest systems deteriorate. 

While that may sound abstract, there are also direct human consequences: Farmers lose harvests, fishing communities lose their livelihoods, water systems become less stable, and food insecurity increases.

Plastic waste has become one of the world’s most visible environmental issues – and, in the case of microplastics, invisible issues. In the context of humanitarian aid and development, however, the issue goes beyond litter. 

In many countries where Concern works, rapid urbanisation and mass displacement have outpaced waste-management infrastructure. That can create a chain reaction of problems: Uncollected waste blocks drainage systems and intensifies flooding. Contaminated water increases the spread of diseases that can prove fatal. The open burning of plastic waste releases harmful pollutants into the air. Marine pollution threatens coastal livelihoods. 

In other words: poor waste management quickly becomes a public health issue, an infrastructure issue, and an economic issue all at once.

» Learn how Concern is reducing its own waste through a humanitarian upcycling partnership in Chad

Flooding is already the world’s largest natural disaster. Rising sea levels are making it a bigger problem. As sea levels rise, coastal communities face increasing risks from erosion, stronger storm surges, infrastructure damage, and saltwater contamination of freshwater supplies. Taken together, these issues affect 1 billion people – roughly 13% of the global population. 

What’s worse, the pace is accelerating: According to the World Economic Forum and NASA, global sea levels rose faster than expected in 2024, increasing by approximately 5.9 mm. That may sound small at first, but even relatively small increases can carry significant impacts, and this latest development comes on top of years of unprecedented rise. As a result, we’ve already seen growing displacement, economic instability, and pressure on vulnerable communities.

Environmental issues can often feel enormous and overwhelming. But the solutions are often local, practical, and community-led. Concern’s work in this area focuses not only on emergency response, but also on building resilience. 

For nearly six decades, we’ve worked with communities facing the effects of natural disasters, climate shocks, and the knock-on impacts (from displacement to income loss). Much of our work on the environmental side falls under the umbrella of Disaster Risk Reduction, a series of approaches that help communities identify climate risks, strengthen local systems, and better prepare for future crises. 

In rural areas, we work with farming and pastoralist families on approaches like Climate Smart Agriculture, which adapts existing farming practices to the new, unpredictable realities of weather patterns. We also work with many families to find diversified sources of income so that they have options and resources to fall back on in the event of a failed harvest. 

When emergencies do happen, Concern is often among the first organisations to respond, both to large-scale disasters and smaller, localised crises that may receive less international attention but can still devastate entire communities. Alongside immediate frontline support, Concern also partners with communities on long-term recovery, rebuilding livelihoods and stability. 

Part of this work means supporting farmers with diversified seeds, tools, and livestock – including goats. And if you’ve made it this far through some of the most existential challenges of our time, you deserve to meet some of those goats.