Global Risks Report 2022

Climate risks dominate global concerns as the world enters the third year of the pandemic, according to the latest edition of the Global Risks Report published in January 2022 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). While the top long-term risks relate to climate, the top shorter-term global concerns include societal divides, livelihood crises and mental health deterioration. Most experts believe that global economic recovery will be volatile and uneven over the next three years. 

To resolve these systemic issues, global leaders must adopt a coordinated multistakeholder response, even as room for cooperation narrows, the authors say. The report encourages leaders to think outside the quarterly reporting cycle and create policies that manage risks and shape the agenda for the coming years. Four areas of emerging risk: cybersecurity; competition in space; a disorderly climate transition; and migration pressures are examined, each requiring global coordination for successful management.

In one chapter the report sheds light on year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, yielding fresh insights on national-level resilience. The report shows that societal and environmental risks have worsened the most since the start of the pandemic, with “social cohesion erosion” and “livelihood crises” taking the top spots. Other risks identified as having worsened significantly are “debt crises”, “cybersecurity failures”, “digital inequality” and “backlash against science”.

The Global Risks Report 2022, shares the results of the latest Global Risks Perception Survey (GRPS) in the context of the current global outlook, followed by an analysis of growing divergences in the areas of climate transition, cybersecurity, mobility and outer space.

(WEF/ile)

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