Only one in 10 World Economic Forum members polled expect global recovery to accelerate over the next three years, a survey of nearly 1,000 business, government and academic leaders found, about six in six of the world outlook. There is only one optimist.
Climate change was seen by respondents as the number one threat in the WEF’s annual risk report on Tuesday, while erosion of social cohesion, livelihoods crisis and deterioration in mental health were identified as risks posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. increased most since its inception. ,
“Global leaders must come together and adopt a coordinated multi-stakeholder approach to address continuing global challenges and build resilience before the next crisis,” said Saadia Zahidi, WEF Managing Director.
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The survey showed that extreme weather was considered the world’s greatest risk in the short term and a failure of climate action in the medium and long term – two to 10 years.
The agreement at the United Nations COP26 climate conference in November last year was widely praised for keeping the prospects of limiting global warming to 1.5 °C, but many of the nearly 200 countries called for the convention in Glasgow for more. wanted to leave.
Climate change is already seen to be contributing to more extreme weather patterns.
Peter Giger, Group Chief Risk Officer, Zurich Insurance, said: “A failure to act on climate change could reduce global GDP by one-sixth and the commitments made at COP26 are still to achieve the 1.5 (°C) target.” are not enough.” Compile the report, said.
The WEF report also highlights four emerging risk areas – cyber security, a chaotic climate transition, migration pressures and competition in space.
In addition to space tourism, the prospect of launching 70,000 satellites in the coming decades, amid a lack of regulation, raises the risk of collisions and increasing debris in space.
“Who controls space?” Carolina Clint, Continental Europe risk management leader at insurance broker Marsh, who also helped prepare the report.
The report is published each year before the annual meeting of the WEF in Davos. although Geneva based WEF last month Omicron postponed the January event to mid-2022 due to the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
The report was produced in collaboration with Zurich, Marsh McLennan and the SK Group of South Korea, the universities of Oxford and Pennsylvania, and the National University of Singapore.
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