Climate Change biggest concern in Global Risks Report

By
Ali Hasan
-
611
WEF
According to the WEF, there is still much uncertainty regarding global economic recovery

Geneva, 13 January 2022 (TDI): The World Economic Forum (WEF) recently published its Global Risks Report for the current year. Environmental risks stood out in particular, for both the long term and the short term. Additionally, climate change-related risks make up three of the top risks by severity in the next ten years.

The failure to act on climate change, the loss of biodiversity and ecosystems along with extreme weather patterns were perceived by experts as the biggest threats to the global population in the upcoming years

The report was based on a survey that involved 1,000 global experts and leaders in government, business, civil society and their perception of what risks pose the biggest threat. Additionally, views from 12,000 world leaders from 124 countries were also considered.

Many experts believe that extreme weather patterns are the biggest threat in the short term, while climate action change failure will also prove to be of dire consequence in the future.

Additionally, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a compounding effect on risks. 23% of experts believe that mental health deteriorating and extreme weather is made worse by the ongoing effects of the pandemic. Vaccine inequality is also a major issue.

As a result of the pandemic world, the global economic gap will also widen, with developing countries developed countries continuing to lose their gross output. According to the report, by 2024, developing countries will fall below 5.5% of their GDP pre-pandemic while for developed countries it will fall by 0.9%.

“Vaccine inequality and a resultant uneven economic recovery risk compounding social fractures and geopolitical tensions.” -Author of the Global Risks Report, 2022.

Other factors that demand immediate attention include rising debts across the world, the livelihood crisis, social erosion, and geoeconomic confrontation.