Global Risks Report 2022: WEF

In News 

• Recently, the World Economic Forum (WEF) released the Global Risks Report 2022.

About the report, 

• The Global Risks Report series tracks global risks perceptions among risk experts and world leaders in business, government, and civil society. 
• It examines risks across five categories:
  • Economic
  • Environmental
  • Geopolitical
  • Societal
  • Technological. 

Major Finding 

• Social cohesion erosion”, “livelihood crises” and “mental health deterioration” are three of the five risks seen as the most concerning threats to the world in the next two years. 
  • This societal scarring compounds the challenges of national policy-making, limiting the political capital.

•  Environmental risks—in particular, “extreme weather” and “climate action failure”—appear as top risks in the short-, medium-and long-term outlooks. 
• In the medium term, economic risks such as “debt crises” and “asset bubble burst” also emerge as governments struggle to balance fiscal priorities.
•  In the longer-term horizon, geopolitical and technological risks are of concern too—including “geoeconomic confrontations”, “geopolitical resource contestation” and “cybersecurity failure”.
• Severity:  Environmental risks have the potential to yield the most damage to people and the planet, followed by societal challenges. 
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• Image Courtesy; WEF
• Growing insecurity in the forms of economic hardship, worsening impacts of climate change and political persecution will force millions to leave their homes in search of a better future. 

• COVID-19:

  • The pandemic and its economic consequences continue to stifle countries’ ability to control the virus and facilitate a sustainable recovery.
    • The most serious challenge persisting from the pandemic is economic stagnation

    • mental health deterioration and extreme weather events were exacerbated by the pandemic.

• The global economic gap will widen by 2024 when the developing countries will have fallen 5.5 per cent below their pre-pandemic expected GDP growth and advanced economies would have surpassed the same by almost 0.9 per cent.
• Cybersecurity threats: 
  • Cybersecurity threats are growing and outpacing societies’ ability to effectively prevent or respond to them. 
  • Attacks on critical infrastructure, misinformation, fraud and digital safety will impact public trust in digital systems and increase costs for all stakeholders. 

Suggestions 

• Focus from leaders and public support is needed to strengthen international cooperation on global challenges.
•  It is essential that businesses, policy-makers, and civil society advance comprehensive near- and long-term climate actions in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Source: DTE