These are the greatest risks facing the world

The 2020s are off to a disruptive start. From the COVID-19 until the war in Europe, as explained by the Global Risks Report 2023 of the World Economic Forumhave given way to a “new series of food and energy crises, problems that decades of progress have tried to solve”.

As a result, this year’s report presents a set of risks that are both familiar, but also seem new.

In particular, the return of risks such as inflation, the cost of living and geopolitical clashes are historically nothing new, but unknown to the current generation of policy makers and entrepreneurs.

What are the greatest risks facing the world?

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The biggest risks in the short and long term

The report uses data from the Global Risk Perception Survey 2022-2023 to understand the risks the world is likely to face in the next 10 years.

The survey points to the cost of living crisis as the most serious threat we will face in the next two years. This is followed by natural disasters and extreme weather events, while geo-economic confrontation is also among the top 3 most serious risks in our immediate future.

Compared to a 10-year view, the long-term risk of not addressing climate change appears as the largest set of risks. From the inability to mitigate climate change to the loss of biodiversity and the collapse of ecosystems, the 4 most serious risks for the next 10 years are all environmental. In fact, the cost of living crisis completely disappears from the top 10, while the geoeconomic confrontation drops to 9th.

“The near-term risk landscape is dominated by energy, food, debt and catastrophes. Those who are already the most vulnerable are suffering – and in the face of multiple crises, those who qualify as vulnerable are increasing rapidly, in both rich and poor countries. Climate and human development must be at the center of world leaders’ concerns, even as they grapple with current crises. Cooperation is the only way forward”said Saadia Zahidi, Director General of the World Economic Forum.

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The risk of multiple crises, or “polycrises”

The Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum being held this year in Davos will reflect the number of ongoing crises. As the meeting summary explains “The world is today at a critical inflection point. The sheer number of ongoing crises calls for bold collective action.”

And it is the interconnected nature of these crises and risks that this year’s Global Risks Report flags as a particular danger.

“Concurrent crises, deeply interconnected risks, and the erosion of resilience are giving rise to the risk of ‘polycrisis,’ where disparate crises interact in such a way that the overall impact far exceeds the sum of each part,” their authors write.

This year’s report explores four possible futures for 2030 around resource rivalry and polycrises that could emerge as a result of competition for natural resources, driven by interrelated environmental, geopolitical and socioeconomic risks.

You can learn more about resource competition, resource collaboration, resource control, and resource constraints in the report.

Source World Economic Forum.

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