The World Economic Forum (WEF) has just published the 17th edition of the Global Risks Report and you should probably avoid reading it on a Friday afternoon.
The report tracks global risks perceptions among risk experts and world leaders in business, government, and civil society. This time the perceptions are gloomier than ever, probably fueled to some extent by the ongoing pandemic.
When asked “How do you feel about the outlook for the world?” only 16% of the respondents give a positive or optimistic response. The vast majority expects negative scenarios over the next three years and 42% think we should prepare ourselves for a consistently volatile world with multiple surprises.
When asked to identify the most severe risks on a global scale over the next 10 years, the Top 5 list looks like this:
Climate action failure
Extreme weather
Biodiversity loss
Social cohesion erosion
Livelihood crises
Three of the most menacing threats identified are all environmental, which shows that the respondents have little faith in the world’s ability to contain climate change.
The report points out that even though the UN’s Climate Change Conference (COP26) was able to get 197 countries to sign the Glasgow Climate Pact, these new commitments are expected to miss the 1.5°C goal established in the Paris Agreement and thus increase the risks from a disorderly climate transition.
In other words, without stronger action we will end up in a “too little, too late” situation and ultimately a “hot house world scenario” with runaway climate change that makes the world all but uninhabitable.
Sounds pretty crappy to me.
The report calls for all stakeholders to focus on actions that will drive an innovative, determined and inclusive transition in order to minimize the impacts of disorder, facilitate adaptation and maximize opportunities.
In plain English: we need to seriously get our act together – fast.